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THE 

DESTRUCTIVE     INFLUENCE 

OF  THE 

TARIFF 

UPON 

Manufacture   and    Commerce 

AND   THE 

FIGURES      AND      FACTS      RELATING      THERETO 


BT 


J.    SCHOENHOF 


THIRD     EDITION, 


NEW   YORK 
PUBLISHED    FOR    THE 

NEW  YORK  FREE  TRADE  CLUB 

By    G.  p.    PUTNAM'S   SONS 

11   St.    1<^   WEST  23D   STREET 
I89I 


COPYRIGHT   BY 

J.   SCHOSNHOF 
1883 


o 

t 

c3 


HP 

INTRODUCTION.  S34>d( 


The  tariff  laws  of  the  United  States  all  bear  one  and  the  same 
characteristic   feature,  namely,  the  absence  of  a  rational  founda- 
tion for  their  claim  of  "  protecting  "  American  manufacturing  in- 
dustries.    The  word  *'  Protection  "  presupposes  the  existence  of  a 
foreign  power  against  which  protection  is  desired.     It  would  be 
reasonable  to  infer  that  those   attempting  this  protection  should 
inquire  into  the  composition  of  that  foreign  power,  to  wit,  the  in- 
dustries of  foreign  nations,  and  the  tariffs  upon  which  these  foreign 
industries  are  based.     Had  the  fraraers  of  our  tariff  laws  made 
such  inquiry,  they  would  have  found  that  the  starting-point  of  all 
industrial  nations,  from  whom  our  industries  are  to  find  protection, 
is  that  of  free  raw  materials.     The  strongest  protective  tariffs,  like 
those  of  Germany  and  France,  make  no  exception  to  this  rule.  ^   The 
United  States,  on  the  other  hand,  commence  their  industrial  pro- 
^     duction  with  rates  ranging  from  twenty  to  sixty  per  cent,  on  raw 
(^     materials,  with  rates  so  much  above  the  starting-point  of  all  com- 
S    peting  nations,  that  the  benefits  intended  to  accrue  from  protection 
to  our  industries  are  usually  spent  before  they  have  left  the  raw 
material,  and  provided  slight  protection  to  crude — or  half — nianu- 
2    factures.     Nay,  the  raw  material  and  half-manufacture  frequently 
2    have  higher  rates  than  the  article  of  which  they  form  the  component 
a:    material.    Our  manufacturers  in  consequence  of  this  inverted  appli- 
2    cation  of  the  protective  principle  are  sufferers  to  the  extent  which 
u."    must  necessarily  follow  in  the  train  of  such  a  mistaken  policy  : 
<     glutted  home-markets  in  American  manufactures  of  lower  grades  and 
in     continued  large  importations  of  foreign  fabrics  of  higher  grades. 
5     The  immediate  aim  of  reform  must   be  to  right  this  anomaly, 


to  place  all  raw  materials  upon  the  free-list  (thus  to  gain  an  even 
starting-point  with  foreign  competitors),  and  then  to  reduce  the  tariff 
proportionally,  so  as  to  reserve  the  higher  protective  rate  for  more 
developed  and  the  lower  rate  for  cruder  branches. 

The  new  tariff-law  of  March  3,  1883,  though  different  from  what 

was  proposed  by  the  Commission,  varies  in  no  material  point  from 

the  old  tariff,  and  the  changes  are  in  no  wise  conducive  to  lighten 

the  burdens  of  the  people  or  to  improve  the  languishing  condition 

'  See  Appendixl. 

433972. 


IV 

of  commerce  and  manufacture.  The  reductions  are  insignificant ; 
some  duties,  as  those  on  all-wool  dress  goods,  have  been  raised,^ 
and  the  taxes  on  raw  materials  remain,  with  immaterial  changes, 
as  heavy  as  they  were  before  the  revision.  I  have  collected  the 
data  relating  to  the  various  phases  of  the  tariff  discussion,  and  have 
put  them  in  connected  form,  so  as  to  present  a  clear  statement  of 
this  all-important  issue  in  its  bearing  upon  labor,  commerce  and 
manufacture. 

It  has  been  my  aim  to  prove  in  these  pages,  from  statistical 
facts  reaching  over  several  decades  and  from  the  conditions  of 
competing  countries,  that  the  recognition  of  the  following  propo- 
sitions as  fundamental  principles  must  underlie  all  attempts  at 
tariff  reform  if  the  same  be  intended  to  benefit  the  whole  country, 
give  more  remunerative  employment  to  labor,  and  improve  its 
conditions  by  making  its  earnings  more  valuable  : 

1.  A  tariff  which  taxes  raw  materials  cannot  be  protective  to 
manufacturing  industries. 

2.  A  tax  making  raw  materials  cost  our  manufacturers  more 
than  those  of  competing  nations  is  practically  a  prohibition  of  the 
exportation  of  the  surplus  product  of  our  manufactures. 

3.  Protection,  fostering  competition  to  unnatural  fierceness,  be- 
comes self -destructive  on  account  of  this  exclusion  from  foreign 
outlets. 

4.  Foreign  commerce  and  home  manufactures  must  decay  where 
raw  materials  are  taxed. 

5.  The  carrying  trade  of  the  world  must  cling  to  that  country 
whose  trade  and  manufacture  bear  the  lightest  burdens. 

6.  Wages  are  not  gauged  by  tariffs,  but  by  the  general  oppor- 
tunities offered  by  the  respective  countries. 

7.  The  standard  of  living  of  the  working  classes  determines  the 
rate  of  wages. 

8.  Where  the  standard  of  living  is  highest,  productive  power  and 
invention  find  highest  development,  and  production  is  cheapest. 

9.  Protection  is  the  normal  condition  of  countries  whose  stand- 
ard of  living  is  a  low  one. 

10.  Free  trade  is  the  normal  condition  of  countries  whose  stand- 
ard of  living  is  a  high  one.  ^^ 

'   See  Appendix   III. 


The  principles  contained  in  these  propositions  once  recognized, 
the  adjustment  of  the  tariff  question  will  be  an  easy  matter. 
The  want  of  understanding  that  is  apparent  in  all  discussions  is 
attributable  to  an  insufificient  collection  of  material  facts,  and  to 
ignorance  of  the  correlation  of  certain  factors  that  play  no  small 
part  in  the  concert  of  social  forces.  I  have  endeavored  to  link 
these  into  the  chain  of  evidence,  which  I  have  been  collecting 
for  a  number  of  years,  against  the  tariff  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

Though  it  is  the  avowed  purpose  of  advocates  of  protection  to 
frame  tariffs  for  the  benefit  of  the  working  classes,  it  is  easy  to 
prove  that  the  tariff  has  not  only  signally  failed  to  accomplish 
this,  but  on  the  contrary  has  circumscribed  employment  and 
reduced  earnings.  It  must  be  clear  to  all  that  it  must  be  the  aim 
of  economic  science  to  elevate  the  standard  of  life  of  the  working 
classes  if  the  science  is  to  fulfil  its  mission.  The  removal  of  bur- 
densome taxation  is,  therefore,  the  first  stepping-stone  to  this  end. 
It  is  a  step  of  most  signal  importance,  one  that  cannot  be  under- 
valued, as  our  present  system  bears  heaviest  on  that  class,  which 
is  the  least  capable  of  bearing  double  burdens  ;  taxes  to  support 
the  government  and  taxes  for  protection,  which  does  not  protect. 
The  results  of  nearly  twenty  years  of  high  tariffs  clearly  show 
that  the  system  has  worked  to  the  advantage  of  great  monopolies 
alone.  But  the  effort  which  is  made  to  have  it  appear  that  the 
war  tariff  is  upheld  for  the  purpose  stated,  is  in  itself  a  tribute 
paid  to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  which  would  not  yield  to  the 
infliction  of  such  onerous  burdens,  were  it  not  in  the  honest  belief 
that  the  workingmen's  condition  in  life  is  improved  thereby. 
To  the  honest  adhei^ents  of  this  belief  these  pages  are  addressed. 

Agitation  alone  can  bring  a  solution.  The  public  mind  cannot 
accept  reforms  unless  prepared  by  education  and  enlightenment. 
This  can  only  be  given  by  free  and  extended  discussion,  which 
must  lead  to  clearing  of  doubts,  and  thus  toward  liberation  from 
oppression,  which  has  been  deferred  only  too  long.  To  this  end 
discussion  is  invited,  as  silence  and  indifference  are  the  deadly 
enemies  of  all  reform. 

"  What  great  gift  have  my  brothers,  but  it  came 
From  search,  and  strife,  and  loving  sacrifice." 

— Edwin  Arnold,  The  Light  of  Asia, 


STATISTICAL   AUTHORITIES    USED. 


Census  Reports  of  the  United  States. 

Reports  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Commerce  and  Navigation, 

Commercial  Relations  of  the  United  States,  No.  23. 

State  of  Labor  in  Europe,  1878.     Reports  from  the  United  States  Consuls. 

The  Tariff  laws  of  Germany,  France,  Belgium,  Canada,  Great  Britain. 

Annual  Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  Statistics  of  Mass. 

"  *'  '•  "  "  "     of  New  Jersey. 

Poor's  Railroad  Manual. 

Miscellaneous  Statistics  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Part  XI.,  18S3. 
Financial  Reform  Almanac  for  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  1883. 
Accounts  of  Trade  and  Navigation  of  the  United  Kingdom  for  1882. 
Returns  of  Taxes  levied  in  the  different  states  in  Europe,  ordered  by  House  of 

Commons. 
Statistical  Abstract  for  principal  foreign  Countries,  for  Parliament. 
Maurice  Block,  Annuaire  de  I'Economie  Politique. 
Leone  Levi,  Wages  and  Earnings  of  the  Working  Classes. 
Statistisches  Jahrbuch  flir  das  deutsche  Reich,  1883. 
Dr.  Emanuel  Sax,  Die  Hausindustrie  in  Thliringen. 
Schnapper-Arndt,  Fiinf  Dorfgemeinden  auf  dem  hohen  Taunus. 
Das    deutsche  Wirthschaftsjahr    1881.      Reports    of   German    Chambers   of 

Commerce. 
Gesellschaft  Concordia  in  Mainz,  Statistische  Tabellen  iiber  Arbeitslohne.  < 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 


The  development  of   manufacturing  industries  under  Free   Trade   and 

under  Protection.     What  Free  Trade  is  doing  for  the  British  .         i 

CHAPTER  11. 
The  decay  of  our  foreign  commerce  caused  by  the  tariff  .  .  7 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  development  of  our  industries  not  due  to  the  tariff.  The  tariff  re- 
pressive rather  than  otherwise  .  .  .  •  .12 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  wool-grower  not  in  need  of  Protection.     An  overfed  infant  which 

never  knows  when  it  has  enough  .  .  .  .  .17 

CHAPTER   V. 

The  tariff  rather  destructive  than  protective  in  woollen  industries  .       24 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  tariff  on  wool  and  other  raw  materials  the  only  cause  of  our  inability 

to  compete  ........       28 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  tariff  on  steel  rails  a  further  illustration  of  the  effects  of  Protec- 
tion. Also  a  brief  history  of  the  great  slaughter  of  the  innocents 
by  the  combined  British  capitalist  .  .  .  .  •       3^ 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  autocrats  of  the  Treasury  make  decisions  that  are  pleasing  to  the  in- 
fants. The  latter  pack  commissions  with  their  own  men,  and  Congres- 
sional Committees  act  as  their  pliant  tools.  But  there  is  many  a- slip 
between  the  cup  and  the  lip.  Also  an  account  of  a  division  of  profits 
between  the  infants  and  their  workmen  .  .  •  ♦43 


CHAPTER  IX. 

In  which  it  is  shown  that  we  are  superior  to  all  nations  in  manufacturing 

skill  and  physical  ability  .  ,  .  .  .  .53 

CHAPTER  X. 

Containing  a  very  useful  comparison  between  American  and  European 

methods  of  production  .  .  .  .  .  -59 

CHAPTER  XI. 
In  which  the  workingman  .s  reminded,  that  not  all  is  gold  that  glitters     .       70 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Comparing  American  wages  with  English  wages,  and  showing  how  small 
the  difference  in  the  pay,  and  how  small  a  tariff  would  be  needed 
to  protect  American  labor,  if  raw  materials  were  free   .  .  •       "8 

Explanatory  remarks  to  tables.        .  .  .  .  •  .85 

APPENDIX  I. 

Showing  the  tariffs  of  the  principal  commercial  nations,  so  far  as  they  relate 
to  manufactures  and  raw  materials,  imports  and  exports  of  manufac- 
tures in  the  aggregate  and  per  capita. 

APPENDIX  II. 
Showing  how  the  nations  named  in  Appendix  I  raise  their  revenues.    1882. 

APPENDIX  III. 

The  old  and  the  new  tariff  rates  of  the  most  important  articles  of  manu- 
factures and  of  raw  materials  belonging  thereto. 

APPENDIX  IV. 

Showing  the  ad  valorem  percentage  of  specific  rates  on  values  of  iron, 
steel  rails,  and  wool,  at  or  near  the  time  of  the  imposition  of  the  old 
tariff,  previous  to  its  revision,  and  under  the  new  tariff. 


CHAPTER    L 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES  UNDER 
FREE  TRADE  AND  UNDER  PROTECTION.  WHAT  FREE  TRADE  IS 
DOING    FOR    THE    BRITISH. 

Protectionists  have,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  held  captive  a 
whole  nation  of  uncommonly  intelligent  people.  They  have  held 
them  under  a  spell.  The  pied  piper  of  Hamelin,  by  the  sounds 
of  his  magic  flute,  could  not  have  produced  such  wonderful  effect 
as  our  high-tariff  men  produce  by  chanting  their  few  stale  tunes 
in  the  ears  of  a  credulous  people.  No  deep-hidden  sense  under- 
lies these  incantations.  It  is  simply  the  art  of  the  priest  and  the 
credulity  of  the  hearer  that  make  the  latter  accept  as  tenets  of 
wisdom  what  otherwise  would  long  ago  have  ceased  to  cloud  the 
understanding  of  a  whole  people.  The  mystic  words  that  exer- 
cise so  great  an  influence  are  the  following  : 

1.  We  are  a  young  nation,  and  as  such  cannot  compete  with  the 
older  nations  of  Europe. 

2.  American  labor  must  be  protected  against  the  starvation 
wages  of  Europe. 

3.  Protection  is  necessary  to  foster  our  home  industries,  and 
without  protection  our  industries  would  decay. 

I  must  admit  that  at  first  sight  and  hearing  one  may  be  inclined 
to  accept  these  as  proper  dogmas  of  belief.  But  on  closer  inspec- 
tion they  are  found  to  be  on  very  ill  terms  with  experience, 
figures,  and  facts.  I  will  take  the  points  in  reverse  order, 
because,  though  they  are  usually  given  in  the  above  order,  No.  3 
is  the  real  bulwark  of  protection,  and  the  storming  of  the  citadel 
implies  the  consequent  reduction  of  the  lesser  works.  If  protec- 
tionists were  right  in  their  assertion,  that  protection  is  necessary 
to  building  up  home  industries  and  maintaining  our  position 
among  the  great  commercial  nations  of  the  world,  then  it  would 
necessarily  follow  that  nations  which  have  forsaken   that  policy 


must  be  on  the  decline,  dating  from  the  time  when  they  adopted 
what  cur  protectionists  are  wort  tc-  call  "heretical  doctrine." 

Let  us  see  jvh^t  effect,  free-trade  principles  enacted  into  laws 
have  had  on/thci  toiame'y.ce  ar.d  maniifactures  of  England.  The 
export  of  the  principal  articles  of  manufacture,  starting  from  1845, 
the  year  still  under  the  influence  of  the  patriarchal  system,  was 
as  follows  : 


(In  millions  of  dollars.) 
Cottons  and  yarns        ..... 

1845. 

1855. 

ises. 

i88r. 

125. 

168. 

274. 

380. 

Woollens  and  yarns     ..... 

42. 

51. 

122. 

IQS. 

Linens  and  yarns          .         .         .         . 

20. 

24. 

55- 

30. 

Silks 

5- 

8. 

7- 

13- 

Iron  and  steel 

17. 

45. 

64. 

115. 

Lead,  tin,  copper,  and  brass 

15- 

20. 

30. 

26. 

Tools,  cutlery,  and  implements    . 

16. 

25- 

45. 

68. 

Coal 

5- 
245. 

12. 

20. 

3^. 

ass- 

617. 

775- 

It  was  as  late  as  i860  that  the  last  taxes  of  a  protective  charac- 
ter were  abolished,  consequently  the  full  effect  of  entire  free  trade 
in  all  materials  necessary  for  manufactures  does  not  appear  in  the 
above  tables  before  1865  ;  yet  the  exports  of  the  above  enumera- 
ted British  manufactures  rose  within  a  period  of  ten  years  (ending 
with  1865)  from  $353,000,000  to  $617,000,000,  or  seventy-five  per 
cent.  The  assertions  of  our  protectionists  and  of  British  "  fair- 
traders  "  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  England  maintains  her 
growing  trade  even  to  our  times,  as  shown  by  the  list  of  exports  of 
1881.  The  total  of  exports  of  British  manufactures  has  increased 
twenty-six  per  cent,  within  this  last  period,  against  an  increase  of 
twenty-one  per  cent,  in  the  population. 

Like  results  followed  the  abolition  of  the  prohibitive  tariff  en- 
joyed by  French  manufacturers  up  to  1S60,  and  the  substitution 
of  comparative  free  trade  in  place  thereof.  Next  to  Napoleon  III 
and  M.  Rouher,  who  saw  farther  in  this  respect  than  most  of  their 
countrymen,  France  owes  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  indefati- 
gable labors  of  Mr.  Cobden.  After  long  and  most  arduous  work- 
ing he  finally  succeeded  in  engrafting  upon  the  Gallic  trunk  a 
sprig  of  Saxon  common-sense.     The  Englishman  was  not  basely 


selfish.  He  wished  to  have  England's  neighbors,  nay,  even  her 
hereditary  foe,  share  in  the  good  things  to  whose  possession  she 
owed  her  commercial  greatness  (knowing,  however,  all  the  time, 
what  then  seemed  a  great  secret,  that  in  improving  yourneighbor's 
condition  you  better  your  own).  But  behold  what  followed. 
The  exports  of  France,  which  in  i860  were ^450,000,000,  attained 
in  1873 — immediately  after  a  devastating  war — to  near  ^800,-' 
000,000,  Imports  and  exports  in  i860  were  $800,000,000 ; 
in  1873,  $1,450,000,000.  The  exports  of  both  countries  con- 
sist mostly  of  such  of  the  products  of  their  home  industries  as 
we  do  our  utmost  to  prevent  our  manufacturers  from  exporting, 
by  laying  a  prohibitory  burden  upon  all  materials  necessary  to 
their  manufacture. 

British  exports  of  manufactures  are  nearly  $1,000,000,000, 
The  last  census  reports  the  total  of  our  inflated  manufacturing 
values  as  $5,300,000,000.  This  sum  contains  $1,670,000,000  that 
does  not  belong  to  manufactures, — flouring,  lumbering,  black- 
smithing,  sugar-refining  (the  latter  embracing  in  materials  $144,- 
698,000  and  in  labor  only  $2,875,000),  coffee-roasting,  slaughter- 
ing, and  other  similar  items  not  usually  considered  manufactures, 
except  in  American  census  reports,  intended  to  make  a  big  show- 
ing before  Congressional  committees.  We  have  then  left  about 
$3,700,000,000.  Reduced  to  English  values  our  manufactures 
represent  about  $3,000,000,000. 

The  results  of  both  systems  of  taxation  on  the  textile  and 
metal  industries,  the  pets  of  our  government,  are  illustrated  in  the 
table  given  on  the  following  page. 

Here  are  two  great  divisions  :  the  one  embracing  all  of  the 
textile  industries  that  supply  our  clothing  and  all  our  dry  goods, 
the  other  all  the  metal  products,  utensils,  tools,  machinery,  etc., 
of  this  great  nation.  With  very  slight  exceptions  all  of  our  great 
protected  manufacturing  industries  are  contained  in  this  schedule. 
Take  the  swollen  condition  of  our  prices  of  1880  into  considera- 
tion (in  proportion  2  to  i  as  to  English  prices,  so  far  as  metals 
are  concerned,  and  nearly  the  same  as  to  woollens),  and  you  will 
find  that  the  English  exports  alone  exceed  by  far  the  entire  prod- 
uct of  our  great  manufacturing  enterprises. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  bought,  despite  our  "  protective  "  tariff. 


from  foreign  countries,  mostly  English,  one  fourth  as  much  in 
metals  and  more  than  one  third  as  much  in  textiles  (reducing 
our  inflated  valuation  to  the  foreign  standard),  as  our  whole  over- 
protected  manufacturing  industry  has  produced.  Our  own  ex- 
ports melt  into  nothingness  alongside  of  the  huge  figures  of 
British  exports  in  the  same  line  of  manufactures — manufactures 
which  we  foster  into  decay  by  laying  a  heavy  burden  upon  the 
materials  of  which  tliey  are  composed.  That  the  proportions 
given  are  correct  can  be  further  proven  by  the  quantities  of  raw 
materials  consumed  by  both  countries.  Our  "reformed"  tariff 
has  changed  nothing  in  this  matter  ;  our  industries  are  not  re- 
lieved, and  the  British  have  all  cause  to  rejoice  that  they  have 
such  excellent  aiders  and  abettors  in  our  "protectionists,"  who 
have  again  succeeded  in  preventing  that  reform  that  was  to  give 
us  gateway  to  the  waters  of  the  oceans. 

I  will  put  side  by  side  with  our  entire  production  in  the  special 
branches,  the  corresponding  English  exports  and  also  American 
exports,  which  will  give  a  better  illustration  of  the  effects  of  the 
respective  policies  than  a  volume  of  argument : 


American 

English 

American 

Foreign 

ARTICLES. 

Production, 

Exports  in 

Exports  in 

Imports, 

18S0. 

i38o. 

1880. 

1S80. 

(t)  metals    . 

$672,078,000 

$237,500,000 

$14,116,000 

$72,744,000 

(a)  Brass,      copper, 

and  manufact.  in- 

dust.,      telegragh 

wires 

30,000,000 

27,000,000 

180,000 

1,787,000 

(b)    Cutlery        and 

hardware    . 

38,000,000 

19,000,000 

1,100,000 

1,900,000 

(c)  Firearms  . 

5,700,000 

6,500,000 

2,286,000 

830,000 

(d)  Foundry     Prod- 

ucts and  machin- 

ery   .... 

214,378,000 

50,000,000 

5,700,000 

1,227,000 

(e)  Iron   and   steel, 

tin,  etc  .     .     . 

384,000,000 

135,000,000 

4,850,000 

67,000,000 

(2)  TEXTILES 

$521,300,000 

$534,500,000 

$10,216,576 

$122,350,000 

(a)  Cotton  goods. 

211,000,000 

375.000,000 

10,000,000 

30,000,000 

(b)  Jute  roods     . 

697,000 

12,500,000 

2,850,000 

(c)  Linen  goods  . 

602,000 

30,000,000 

22,500,000 

(d)  Silk  goods     . 

41,000,000 

17,000,000 

32,000,000 

(e)  Woollens,  wors- 

teds,   and  mixed 

268,000,000 

100,000,000 

216.576 

35,000,000 

textiles. 

What  bright  prospects  would  open  to  us  if  the  commerce  of  the 
world  were  thrown  open  to  our  industries,  which  now  for  want  of 
markets  are  choking  in  their  own  grease  !  I  shall  show  in  the 
progress  of  this  argument  that  it  is  only  a  paper  wall,  the  paper 
that  contains  the  law  which  taxes  raw  materials,  that  shuts  us 
out  from  our  legitimate  position — that  of  rulers  of  the  commerce 
of  the  world. 

Germany  presents  another  illustration  of  the  correctness  of  these 
views.  After  long-protracted  effort,  Prussia  finally  succeeded  in 
coaxing  the  three  dozen  assorted  petty  states  to  curb  somewhat 
their  proud  spirit  of  independence  and  enter  the  "  Zollverein." 
Prussia's  hard  work  to  get  that  "  Zollverein  "  to  accept  a  free 
tariff  on  raw  materials  lasted  well-nigh  up  to  the  time  when,  at 
Sadowa,  the  modern  Macedonians  so  effectively  knocked  the 
dust  out  of  the  musty  wardrobe  of  the  heirs  of  the  "  Holy  Roman 
Empire."  The  effect  on  German  manufactures  and  commerce 
was  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  England  and  France, 

But  even  the  "  new  German  policy  of  protection  "  has  left  raw 
materials  free.  Excepting  Spain,  perhaps,  it  is  only  the  United 
States  who,  in  spite  of  the  experience  of  other  nations,  maintain 
that  a  Chinese  wall  is  necessary  to  the  well-being  and  happiness 
of  her  people.  All  other  nations  have  torn  down  theirs,  and  by 
so  doing  have  almost  doubled  their  foreign  trade  /<?/'  capita. 
America  persists  in  keeping  up  her  wall.  The  ill  effects  of  this 
seclusion  our  protectionists  are  trying  to  overcome  by  adding 
another  story  to  the  already  towering  height  of  the  structure. 
Our  exports  of  manufactures  are  almost  nothing  compared  with 
those  of  other  nations.  We  have  almost  nothing  to  offer  to  an 
outside  world  except  the  produce  of  the  unprotected  enterprise  of 
our  agriculturists.  After  twenty  years  of  protection — and  some 
very  hard  years  were  among  them — our  exports  of  articles  of 
American  manufacture  were  in  1880  : 

Agricultural  implements,  clocks,  etc.        •         .         .         .  $3,500,000 

Cotton  manufactures        .......  10,000,000 

Iron  and  steel  manufactures,  tools,  etc.  ....  12,000,000 

Leather  manufactures      .......  6,000,000 

Woollens  and  wearing  apparel         .....  700,000 

All  other  manufactures    .,...,.  10,500,000 

$42,700,000 


Of  all  our  exports,  about  5  per  cent.,  or  $42,700,000,  were  what 
may  properly  be  classified  as  American  manufactures.  This 
amount  is  less  than  5  per  cent,  of  the  exports  of  the  manufactur- 
ing industries  of  Great  Britain,  whose  people  are  not  exposed  to 
the  paternal  care  of  a  protective  government,  but  are  permitted 
to  buy  their  raw  materials  where  they  can  get  them  cheapest. 
In  i860  we  had  a  moderate  tariff  averaging  19  per  cent,  on  duti- 
able goods.  In  1S72,  a  year  of  great  commercial  prosperity,  we 
had  an  average  tariff  of  48  per  cent,  on  dutiable  goods.  The  two 
representative  years  compare  as  follows  : 


* 

Increase 

i860. 

1872. 

or    Decrease 
per  cent. 

Agricultural   implements,   sewing- 

machines,  etc. 

$5,000,000 

Copper  and  brass  manufacture  . 

$1,670,000 

460,000 

—  18 

Iron  and  steel  manufacture,  tools, 

etc 

5,700,000 

8,500,000 

+  50 

Cotton  goods     .... 

10,900,000 

2,300,000 

—  79 

Wearing  apparel  and  woollens  . 

930,000 

640,000 

—  32 

Leather  and  manufactures 

850,000 

650,000 

—  23 

All  other  manufactures 

3,850,000 

3,050,000 

—  21 

$23,900,000 

$20,600,000 

The  increase  in  imports  is  greatest  in  all  articles  that  pay  the 
highest  rates  of  duty,  especially  in  those  whose  raw  materials  are 
heavily  protected. 

Comment  is  unnecessary.  The  above  figures  tell  us  two  facts 
with  sufficient  clearness.  The  first  fact  is,  that  protection  does  not 
exclude  European  manufactures  from  the  United  States.  The 
second  fact  is,  that  protection  does  most  effectively  exclude  the 
manufactures  of  the  United  States  from  the  markets  of  Europe ' 
and  the  world. 

In  1S60  our  exports  of  industries  now  protected  were  nearly  7 
per  cent,  of  our  entire  exports  ;  in  1872  they  were  not  quite  4  per 
cent.;  in  1880  they  were  about  5  per  cent.  Omitting  agricultural 
implements  and  sewing-machines,  which  were  not  exported  in 
i860,  then  the  decline  in  exports  of  protected  goods  shows 
$8,000,000,  or  2;^  per  cent.,  which  is  only  3  per  cent,  of  total  ex- 


ports.     The   imports   of   protected    articles   compare    in    reverse 
ratio  : 


Inc. 

Rate   of 

i860. 

1S72. 

or  dec. 

duty 

p.  cent. 

p.  cent. 

Clothing 

$2,200,000 

$3,000,000 

36 

50  to  100 

Cotton  goods         .... 

33,000,000 

35,000,000 

6 

35  to    75 

Flax  and  manufactures 

10,000,000 

22,500,000- 

125 

35  to    40 

Silk  and  manufactures  . 

33,000,000 

36,000,000 

10 

60 

Wool  and  manufactures 

36,000,000 

80,000,000 

122 

50  to  125 

Earthenware,  fancy  goods,  leather 

goods,  etc.      .         .         .         . 

19,900,000 

34,200,000 

75 

35 

Copper,  brass,  tin,  etc  . 

8,500,000 

17,200,000 

100 

35  to    40 

Iron  and  steel  manufactures  . 

21,000,000 

55,000,000 

162 

72 

50  to  200 

$163,600,000 

$282,900,000 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE    DECAY    OF     OUR     FOREIGN     COMMERCE     IS     CAUSED    BY     THE 

TARIFF. 


Our  merchants  and  manufacturers  suffer  most  by  our  tariff 
provisions.  Right  before  our  very  doors  a  heavy  trade  is  done 
with  the  South  American  and  Central  American  republics,  the 
fruits  of  which  are  gathered  by  the  subjects  of  the  monarchies  of 
Europe.  Somebody  ought  to  do  something — invoke  the  Monroe 
Doctrine,  to  say  the  least — to  make  these  republics  acknowledge 
the  solidarity  of  republican  interests,  and  do  their  duty  toward  a 
sister  republic — viz.,  buy  more  goods  from  us. 

We  bought  of  them  in  1880  ^176,000,000  worth  of  goods — 
coffee,  sugar,  woods,  wool,  nitrates,  guano,  dye-stuffs,  etc. — while 
they  took  only  $58,000,000  worth  from  us.  One-third  of  this  sum 
consisted  of  manufactures  of  the  United  States.  Cotton  manu- 
factures were  represented  by  the  sum  of  $3,899,400.  This  was 
our  share  of  the  supply  of  a  population  equal  to  that  of  the  United 
States ;  a  population  that  has  no  manufacturing  industries  at  all, 
but  draws  this  chief  article  of  its  clothing  mainly  from  foreign 
countries.     Of  this  article  we  grow  the  staple,  export  it  to  England, 


8 


where  it  is  turned  into  manufactures  and  shipped  to  those  coun- 
tries. 

Brazil,  of  whom  we  buy  annually  ^52,000,000  worth  of  goods, 
takes  from  us  $8,500,000  ($690,000  cotton  goods)  in  merchandise 
and  the  remainder  in  exchange  on  London,  wherewith  to  pay  for 
the  cotton  that  England  had  to  buy  from  us  to  fill  the  orders  for 
cotton  goods  from  Brazil. 

Brazil  purchased  from  England,  in  1 8S0,  of  cotton  goods  $1 7,000,- 
coo,  from  the  United  States  barely  $700,000.  Of  Cuba  we  bought 
$65,000,000.  We  sold  the  ever  faithful  isle  $11,000,000  ($4,200,- 
000  manufactures  including  $90,000  in  cotton  goods). 

The  imports  of  English  and  American  cotton  goods  into  all 
the  Central  and  South  American  States  for  the  year  1880,  com- 
pare as  follows : 


English 
goods. 

American 

goods. 

Mexico        ....... 

Central  America       ..... 

British  Honduras 

British  West  Indies           .... 

Other  West  Indies  (including  Cuba)     . 

United  States  of  Colombia 

Venezuela  ....... 

British  Guiana          ..... 

Brazil 

Uruguay 

Argentine  Republic     ..... 

Chili 

Ecuador      

Peru 

$2,406,000 

?,  161,000 

209,000 

3,400,000 

6,100,000 

3,163,000 

1,449,000 

670,000 

17,180,000 

3,081,000 

4,816,000 

5,162,000 

1,020,000 

418,000 

$832,200 

77-700 

66,8co 

131,000 

825,000 

586,000 

149,000 

12,800 

687,000 

52,500 

133,600 

217,800 

104,000 

24,000 

$51,235,000 

$3,899,400 

In  other  words.  Great  Britain  sells  thirteen  dollars'  worth  of  her 
cotton  goods  to  these  American  states,  colonies,  and  sister  repub- 
lics, where  we  place  one  dollar's  worth  of  ours. 

This  is  certainly  food  for  serious  reflection.  We  must  get 
customers  for  the  surplus  products  of  our  mills,  or  the  next  col- 
lapse will  be  far  more  disastrous  in  its  consequences  than  the  one 
which  ended  in  1879.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  sell 
the   bulk   of   the   cotton    goods   they   need    to   all    the   Spanish 


Americas  and  Brazil.  Our  cotton  is  not  protected  ;  hence  we 
manufacture  better  cottons  than  the  English,  and  intrinsically  as 
cheaply  as  they.  And  still  all  the  States  of  Central  and  South 
America  do  not  take  one  fourth  as  much  cotton  goods  from  us  as 
Brazil  alorte  buys  from  England.  What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  ? 
It  cannot  be  the  want  of  shipping.  Even  if  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
do  not  float  over  all  the  bottoms  that  carry  between  our  ports  and 
these  countries,  the  fact  that  we  get  $176,000,000  annually  of  their 
produce  sufficiently  guarantees  that  we  can  carry  back  as  much 
tonnage  as  we  bring  in,  and  at  moderate  cost.  We  may,  there- 
fore, boldly  maintain  that  it  is  not  for  want  of  ships  that  our 
exports  fall  so  far  behind,  but  for  lack  of  enterprise  in  our  manu- 
facturers and  merchants,  and  the  cause  for  this  in  turn  is  to  be 
found  in  the  government's  neglect  to  abolish  oppressive  laws  and 
to  enact  progressive  ones  that  shall  lend  a  helping  hand  to  our 
foreign  commerce.  This,  however,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
Foreign  intercourse  means  liberality  ;  protection  means  exclusion. 
The  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  it  cannot  be  both  liberal 
and  narrow  at  one  and  the  same  time.  The  two  poles  of  the 
needle  can  never  meet. 

During  the  bad  times,  between  1876  and  1S79,  I  have  seen  as 
many  as  8,000,  and  even  10,000  packages  of  cotton  goods  sold 
at  one  auction  sale.  The  same  process  is  repeating  now,  in  1883,^ 
Auction  sales  in  staples  of  10,000  and  15,000  cases.  Of  course 
the  goods  were  sacrificed  in  order  to  make  room  in  the  store- 
houses for  new  goods  of  the  same  character,  although  the  home 
trade  had  been  supplied  with  cheap  goods  in  advance  of  the  season. 
The  consequence  was  the  same  as  now,  depression,  constantly 
increasing.  Had  they  been  dumped  where  the  sea  is  deepest,  the 
result  would  have  been  less  disastrous  to  all  concerned — manufact- 
urer, jobber,  retailer,  and  working  people.  In  that  case  a  few 
millions  would  have  covered  the  loss  ;  in  piling  goods  upon 
goods,  the  tumble  followed  each  new  attempt  with  increasing  dis- 
aster, and  crushed  all  that  "did  not  stand  from  under,"  to  use  a 
slang  expression.  Had  we  had  an  export  trade  this  would  have 
been  avoided,  at  least  in  its  severest  phases.  But  why  did  we  not 
send  our  goods  to  those  countries  ?  Simply  because  we  had  not 
learned,  or  not  tried  to  learn,  to  accommodate  ourselves  to  their 


lO 

wants.  Protection  has  taught  us  to  look  to  the  country  inside  the 
big  wall  as  our  customer  for  our  manufactures,  and  "  if  outsiders 
do  not  want  the  stuff  as  we  make  it,  they  can  let  it  alone." 

There  is,  however,  another  reason  why  we  do  so  small  a  busi- 
ness; it  is  the  absencc^of  accommodation  extended  to  our  im- 
porters and  exporters,  as  shown  by  both  the  letter  and  the  spirit 
of  our  revenue  laws  and  government  regulations.  Other  govern- 
ments, even  those  of  the  paternal  type,  regulated  by  the  police 
officer,  make  such  arrangements  as  will  help  foreign  commerce. 
Germany  has  her  free  ports  of  entry.  But  even  inland  cities  have 
the  same  advantages  of  a  liberal  system,  A  German  importer 
receiving  a  foreign  invoice  leaves  all  his  packages  in  the  public 
storehouse.  He  takes  orders  on  his  samples,  not  alone  in  Ger- 
many, but  over  all  Europe.  As  he  sells  his  stock  he  takes  the 
goods  from  the  different  packages  in  any  quantity  his  trade  may 
require,  and  pays  duty  thereon.  He  may  go  a  dozen  times  to  the 
Custom-house  till  a  case  is  sold  out,  or  an  invoice  exhausted.  In 
this  wise  he  can  do  quite  a  prosperous  export  business  from  the 
public  storehouse.  The  German  trade  to  the  Levant  and  South- 
eastern Europe  is  rapidly  growing,  and  finding  all  his  wants — 
both  of  German  and  foreign  production — readily  supplied  in  any 
of  the  large  trading  centres  of  Germany,  the  foreign  merchant 
looks  to  these  for  the  selection  of  his  stock.  That  the  sale  of 
German  manufactures  is  benefited  by  the  trading  facilities  ex- 
tended to  foreign  goods  is  quite  evident. 

I  will  cite  a  case  from  my  own  experience,  as  an  illustration  of 
how  advantageously  this  system  works  both  to  importers  and  ex- 
porters. Some  years  ago  I  shipped  from  New  York  some  dozens 
of  cases  of  my  manufactures  to  a  house  in  Munich.  When  the 
time  for  settlement  approached,  claims  for  deduction  (a  chief  part 
of  a  German  merchant's  profits)  came  in  so  heavily  that  I  refused 
to  allow  them,  I  resold  the  goods  to  a  house  in  Vienna,  and 
although  there  remained  of  each  case  only  a  portion  of  the  original 
contents,  even  to  parts  of  dozens,  yet  there  was  no  time  lost  in 
measuring  circumlocution-tape,  nor  was  any  fine  or  tax  levied 
upon  the  transfer.  This  could  not  have  been,  were  it  not  that 
one  can  take  parts  of  cases,  pay  duty  if  for  home  consumption, 
or  send  them  free  of  duty  in  any  desired   quantity  to   foreign 


countries.  Without  this  h'beral  system  the  foreign  consignor 
would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  importer  unless  the  goods  be  paid 
for  before  delivery. 

Consider  the  advantages  to  be  derived  by  our  merchants  and 
manufacturers  from  the  adoption  of  this  system  in  America.  There 
is  no  reason  imaginable  why  South  American  buyers  cannot  be 
brought  to  buy  European  goods  in  American  free  ports  as  easily 
as  Eastern  merchants  got  accustomed  to  buying  their  French 
and  English  goods  at  the  fairs  of  Leipzig  and  Frankfort,  or  at 
the  free  ports  of  Hamburg  and  Bremen.  Our  manufactures  are 
frequently  shipped  to  South  America  by  way  of  London.  It 
would  hardly  pay  buyers  from  those  countries  to  visit  our  markets 
when  they  can  find  all  they  need  in  close  proximity  at  another  end 
of  the  world. 

With  free  raw  materials  we  could  export  a  variety  of  manufact- 
ures and  make  it  worth  their  while  to  buy  an  assortment  of  our 
goods.  Under  existing  circumstances  even  the  extension  of  our 
railroad  system  into  Mexico  will  be  of  use  only  in  the  sale  of 
some  of  our  cotton  fabrics,  while  American  woollens  are  being 
slaughtered  in  New  York  auction  houses  at  the  rate  of  10,000  to 
12,000  pieces  in  one  sale.  While  this  is  going  on  in  New  York, 
dry-goods  firms  are  sending  travellers  into  Mexico,  selling  Ameri- 
can cottons  and  English  woollen  goods.  The  cotton  goods  are 
shipped  from  New  York,  the  woollens  from  England.  With  wool, 
shoddy,  and  woolwaste,  iron  and  steel  for  machinery  and  building 
purposes,  50  per  cent,  higher,  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  consider 
the  possibility  of  exporting  our  woollens.  Consequent  upon  all 
these  drawbacks  it  follows  that  shipping  cannot  be  done  by  us  as 
cheaply  as  by  foreign  nations,  even  if  a  free  gift  were  made  to  us 
of  a  whole  fleet  of  steamers.  Where  a  cargo  both  ways  is  always 
sure  to  be  obtainable,  the  carrying  can  be  done  at  considerably 
lower  rates  than  where  one  or  the  other  trip  has  to  be  made  in 
ballast. 

Commerce  is  the  twin  sister  of  industry.  Equal  development  of 
both  is  necessary  to  the  healthful  existence  of  nations.  Why  com- 
merce is  the  Cinderella  of  our  government  may  be  a  conundrum 
to  some.  The  reason  is,  however,  a  very  plain  one.  We  all  know 
that  the  **  fostering  of  our  home  industries  "  uses  up  all  the  ener- 


12 

gies  of  our  statesmen,  so  that  no  time  Is  left  to  inquire  into  the 
real  causes  of  the  decline  of  our  commerce. 

The  only  remedy  known  to  them  is  the  nursing-bottle  of  "  sub- 
sidy." This,  however,  cannot  impart  life  to  the  sickly  infant,  dy- 
ing for  the  want  of  fresh  air  and  free  motion.  These  cannot  be 
bottled. 

People  indulge  in  the  belief  that  our  home  industries  are  pros- 
perous, thanks  to  our  present  high  tariff.  No  greater  fallacy  has 
ever  been  produced  and  believed.  It  is  a  sad  duty  to  a  tender- 
hearted reformer  to  be  compelled  to  demolish  cherished  notions 
with  remorseless  figures,  and  I  beg  therefore  to  be  permitted  to 
reserve  their  production  for  my  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  OUR  INDUSTRIES  NOT  DUE  TO  THE 
TARIFF.  THE  TARIFF  REPRESSIVE  RATHER  THAN  OTHER- 
WISE. 

We  are  informed,  whenever  the  occasion  offers,  that  our  pros- 
perity is  due  to  protection.  We  must  infer  from  this  that  our  pro- 
tectionists, who  claim  so  many  things  as  the  results  of  their  acts, 
are  able  In  some  mysterious  manner  to  influence  the  sun  and  the 
soil  to  bring  forth  more  bountiful  crops.  Were  it  not  for  our  rich 
crops  and  our  cheap  Western  lands  as  against  a  succession  of 
bad  seasons  over  almost  the  whole  of  Europe  and  the  rent-ridden 
farmers  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  other  countries,  our  prosper- 
ity would  not  be  greater  now  than  it  was  from  1875  ^^  1879 — a 
period  equally  blessed  by  protection.  The  prostration  of  our  In- 
dustries was  then  well-nigh  complete  In  almost  every  branch. 
More  than  one  third  of  all  blast  furnaces  and  steel  works  were 
blown  out.  Failure  followed  failure  In  the  Iron  and  woollen  Indus- 
tries— the  spoiled  children  of  a  protective  government.  Protection 
could  not  save  them  from  ruin.  Our  workingmen  turned  tramps 
for  lack  of  employment,  and  vast  numbers  of  men  became  pauper- 
ized. It  was  the  "  boundless  West  "  that  saved  us  when  protection 
would  have  starved  us  out  of  house  and  home.      Now  a  friend  In 


13 

need  is  a  friend  indeed.  If  our  friend  fails  us  in  our  need,  then  we 
do  not  want  him  at  all ;  we  can  take  care  of  ourselves  when  we  are 
well  off  and  prosperity  smiles  on  us. 

"But  protection  has  built  up  our  industries."  Well,  let  us  see 
whether  this  be  so.  Protection,  of  course,  has  built  a  great  many 
factories.  The  profits  that  protection  held  out  caused  very  many 
men  to  invest  huge  piles  of  money  in  brick  and  mortar,  and  large 
dividends  were  made  in  the  few  good  years  which  the  investors 
enjoyed.  Thousands  became  hopelessly  bankrupt  as  soon  as  the 
tide  had  turned — all  thanks  to  protection.  They  were  simply 
crushed  by  the  fruits  of  the  mock  prosperity  caused  by  protection. 
Manufacturers  argued  :  If  we  make  a  given  amount  of  money 
a  year  with  our  present  capacity,  then  we  can  double  our  profits 
by  doubling  our  production.  Arithmetically  this  reasoning  was 
correct ;  economically  it  proved  erroneous.  That  siren  song  of 
protection  ate  up  dividends,  surplus  earnings,  and  capital. 

"  Methinks  the  waves  will  swallow 
Eolh  boat  and  boatman  anon  ; 
And  this,  with  her  sweet  singing. 
The  Lore-Ley  hath  done." 

But  do  we  really  owe  to  protection  the  development  of  our 
home  industries  ?  Let  us  see  what  they  were  under  the  low 
tariff  of  1857.     The  census  gives  the  total  of  manufactures  for 

1850  as  .....  .     $1,019,000,000 

i36o  as  .....  .       1,836,000,000 

1870  as  .....  .       4,232,000,000 

While  1S60  shows  an  increase  of  85  per  cent.,  1870  shows  125 
per  cent,  increase.  If  our  protectionists  state  that  protection 
caused  this  surplus  of  increase  in  dollars  and  cents  of  manufact- 
ures, then  they  have  some  showing.  Translated  into  real  values  the 
exhibit  will  be  less  gratifying.  Protection  and  money  manufact- 
ured by  the  printing-press  raised  prices.  The  money  value  was 
greatly  enhanced  ;  the  real  increase,  however,  had  not  kept  up 
with  that  of  i860.  Some  industries  were  even  "fostered"  in  a 
b?xkward  direction.  The  prices  of  principal  commodities  com- 
pared as  follows  : 


14 


i6  50 

1S70    . 

$30  00 

3  40 

1870    . 

4  40 

10 

1 363     . 

20 

15 

i863     . 

31 

3  40 

1363     . 

5  00 

6  87 

5  i368    . 

15  00 

(  1872     . 

II  50 

Pig  iron  (cost)        .  i36o. 

Coal  (cargo)  .         .  " 

4-4  Shirting,  bleached  (retail) 
Cotton  flannel  (retail)    . 
I5oots  (retail)  .  " 

Flour  (retail)  .  " 


From  these  figures  it  is  evident  that  it  is  not  an  exaggeration  to 
state  that  the  cultivation  of  the  art  of  growing  rich  by  govern- 
ment enactment  resulted  in  raising  the  prices  of  all  commodities 
contained  in  the  estimate  of  the  census  of  1870  fully  60  per 
cent.  Deducting  this  inflation  from  the  valuation  of  1870,  there 
remains  of  the  4,200  million  dollars  only  2,625  millions  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  production  of  1S60,  leaving  an  increase  of  40  per 
cent,  in  real  values  against  an  increase  of  85  per  cent,  in  i860. 
To  meet  the  assertion  of  protectionists  that  a  high  protective  tariff 
was  necessary  to  develop  our  industries,  I  will  here  state  that  it 
has  done  nothing  of  the  kind,  and  prove  it  by  comparing  the 
number  of  hands  employed  in  the  census — years  i860  and  1870 
respectively — the  former  a  year  of  low  tariff,  the  latter  a  year 
in  which  a  high  tariff  and  cheap  money  had  had  full  sway  to 
develop  our  industries  to  an  extent  that  must  have  gladdened  the 
heart  of  the  most  insatiable  protectionist.  Of  course,  I  sliall 
select  only  such  items  as  represent  large  interests  : 


i860. 

IS70. 

Hands. 

Product. 

Hands. 

Product. 

Boots  and  shoes     . 

123,000 

$>)2,O0O,OO0 

136,000 

$182,000,000 

Carpets 

6,700 

7,900,000 

12,100 

21,800,000 

Clothing,     men's    and 

women's    .     .     .      . 

120,500 

83,000,000 

118,700 

160,900,000 

Cotton  goods 

115,000 

107,300,000 

129,400 

168,000,000 

Cutlery  and  edge  tools. 

4,200 

4,600,000 

8,900 

11,000,000 

Hardware      .     .     .     . 

10,700 

10,900,000 

14,200 

22,200,000 

Hats  and  caps    .     .     . 

11,700 

16,900,000 

16,200 

24,800,000 

Hosiery 

9,100 

7,300,000 

14,800 

18,400,000 

Leather 

26,000 

75,000,000 

35,000 

157.000,000 

Silk  goods     .      .      .      . 

5.400 

6,600,000 

6,700 

12,700,000 

Woollen   and  worsted 

goods    

43,000 

66,000,000 

90,000 

173,000,000 

475.300 

$482,500,000 

582,000 

$951,800,000 

15 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  hands  employed  in  all  of  the 
most  important  of  our  protected  industries  is  equal  to  the  increase 
of  population,  which  was  about  22^  per  cent,  in  the  decade.  The 
increase  in  value,  however,  is  nearly  100  percent.,  or  about  6^ 
per  cent,  greater  than  the  increase  in  hands  employed.  The  num- 
ber of  hands  employed  by  the  various  industries  is  surely  better 
evidence,  when  either  greater  or  smaller,  of  a  rise  or  decline  in 
industrial  pursuits,  than  the  valuation  in  dollars  and  cents  at  a 
time  when  the  purchasing  capacity  of  the  dollar  was  reduced  to  so 
low  a  point  as  stated  above.  I  have  omitted  iron  from  the  list,  as 
iron  has  always  enjoyed  a  pretty  good  rate  of  protection,  and  as  it 
will  not  be  denied,  I  presume,  that  the  great  demand  for  iron  was 
due  to  railroad-building,  etc.,  and  not  to  protection.  In  i860  we 
built  1,846  miles,  and  in  1870  we  built  6,070  miles.  Out  of  100,- 
000  of  our  population  there  found  employment 


1S60. 


1870. 


In  the  manufacture  of  Boots  and  Shoes. 
"  "  Clothing 

"  "  Cotton  goods 


388 

387 
360 


358 
310 
340 


These  three  industries,  employing  two  thirds  of  all  the  working 
men  and  women  engaged  in  the  production  of  all  articles  of  cloth- 
ing and  of  dry  goods  for  the  household,  gave  relatively  consider- 
ably less  employment  under  the  fostering  care  of  a  protective 
tariff,  than  under  the  low  tariff  of  1857.  Only  15  per  cent,  of  the 
total  mentioned  above  (excepting  woollen  goods)  gave  employ- 
ment to  50  per  cent,  more  hands,  an  increase  of  23  per  cent, 
above  the  increase  of  population.  Woollen  goods  are  the  only 
articles  that  show  a  very  large  percentage  of  advance — whether  to 
the  advantage  of  the  protected  I  shall  investigate  later  on.  One 
thing,  however,  must  be  clear  from  the  figures  produced,  that  the 
development  of  our  industries,  from  1850  to  1S60,  was  as  great, 
if  not  greater,  under  a  low  tariff,  as  from  i860  to  1S70  under  the 
high  tariff.  To  claim  fathership  of  an  "infant"  that  was  a  full- 
grown  youngster  before  the  paternal  claimant  was  even  born, 
is  a  rather  bold  undertaking.  The  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  gave  employment  at  that  same  time  (1870)  to 


i6 

more  than  three  tim&s  as  many  working  people  under  free  trade 
as  we  did  under  protection  in  the  following  industries,  subject  to 
the  Factories  Acts  : 

Cotton  goods        .........  450,087 

Woollen  and  worsted  goods           ......  234,687 

Silk  goods. 48,124 

Hosiery  and  laces         ........  18,062 

Leone  Levi's  compilation  contains  a  vastly  greater  number  of 
people  employed  in  the  above  manufactures,  but  he  includes  those 
employed  outside  of  factories. 

Another  evidence  of  a  relatively  smaller  production  under  our 
high  tariff  can  be  adduced  by  a  statement  of  the  quantity  of  cot- 
ton consumed.  In  the  three  years  of  a  low  tariff  preceding  the 
high  tariff  for  protection — 1859,  i860,  and  1861 — our  mills  con- 
sumed 2,700,000  bales  of  cotton,  against  2,900,000  bales  in  1869, 
1870,  and  187 1.  (This  is  an  absolute  decline,  in  view  of  the 
increase  of  population,  only  partially  balanced  by  the  disappear- 
ance of  exports,  which  in  i860  exceeded  those  of  1870  by  nearly 
$9,000,000.)  In  the  former  years  it  did  not  need  government 
protection  to  induce  our  people  to  spin  cotton,  work  the  mills  and 
the  mines,  and  grow  rich.  All  they  needed  was  the  equal  protec- 
tion of  the  law,  and  this  they  were  granted  ;  while  under  the 
new  policy  monopolies  of  gigantic  proportions  grew  up,  and  "  a 
tariff  for  the  protection  of  American  labor  "  has  proven  to  be  a 
machine  to  tax  the  poor  for  the  benefit  of  the  rich. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    WOOL-GROWER    NOT    IN    NEED    OF    PROTECTION, 

The  curse  of  American  politics,  log-rolling,  is  also  the  cause  of 
the  absurdities  of  our  "  well-balanced  tariff."  It  gave  us  a  sys- 
tem of  taxation  that  grinds  every  one,  does  cruel  injury  to  a 
whole  nation  of  working  people,  and  good  to  no  one  except  a 
few  monopolists  and  tax-gatherers,  and  it  may  safely  be  asserted 
that  the  corruption  of  our  politics  is  largely  due  to  protection,  and 
to  the  mania  for  government  aid  and  subsidies  engendered  thereby. 
Self-reliance  and  independence  are  lost  where  large  profits  are 
more  the  results  of  legislative  grants  extended  to  industrial  enter- 
prises than  of  unassisted  work.  The  lobbyist  seeks,  and  frequently 
finds,  an  open  door  to  executive  departments,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  a  civil  service  can  be  thoroughl}'-  reformed  that  is  con- 
stantly exposed  to  the  persistent  efforts  of  the  briber.  Worse, 
however,  than  this  corrupting  influence  upon  the  civil  service,  is 
the  effect  upon  legislation  and  the  legislator.  The  lobbyist,  the 
advocate  of  special  laws,  is  the  greatest  enemy  of  free  institutions. 
When  a  people  loses  confidence  in  its  representatives,  when, 
rightly  or  wrongly,  the  latter  are  held  in  suspicion  of  being  the 
tools  of  private  interests,  then  the  calamity  is  irreparable.  The 
briber  of  an  officer  of  the  government  does  momentary  harm, 
while  unjust  laws  tax  generations  with  unjust  burdens,  that  are 
the  more  galling  the  more  people  become  conscious  of  the  methods 
by  which  were  obtained  the  industrial  preferences  and  the  privi- 
lege of  taxing  the  masses  for  the  benefit  of  the  few.  One  interest 
is  arrayed  against  another,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  history  of 
the  tariff  on  wool  and  woollens.  As  the  manufacturer  wanted 
a  higher  tariff  on  his  manufactures,  the  agriculturist  had   to   be 

17 


i8 

pacified.  To  make  him  willing  to  pay  more  for  his  blankets, 
flannels,  and  clothing,  he  was  thrown  a  sop  in  the  nature  of  a 
promised  higher  price  for  the  wool  he  raised.  But  he  found  out 
to  his  cost  that  not  all  is  gold  that  glitters.  Wool  prices  were 
raised,  but  the  level  was  raised  all  around.  He  earned  more 
dollars,  but  he  had  to  spend  a  great  many  more  to  obtain  the 
same  amount  of  goods  that  entered  into  the  production  of  the 
articles  for  which  he  sold  his  wool.  The  money  did  not  reach  as 
far  as  formerly,  and  as  a  consequence  he  got  into  debt  much 
faster  than  he  could  ever  hope  to  get  out  of  it. 

But  even  his  protected  wool  often  proved  a  source  of  great  risk 
and  danger  to  him  by  that  very  protection  which  he  had  consid- 
ered so  great  a  boon.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  all  protection  that  it 
either  stimulates  over-production  or  invites  to  indolence,  careless- 
ness, and  neglect.  Both,  of  necessity,  defeat  the  objects  for 
which  protection  is  imposed.  Therefore,  on  the  whole,  protec- 
tion must  inevitably  work  injury  to  the  protected. 

No  other  reason  can  be  adduced  why  wool  was  to  be  protected 
but  :ompromise  of  conflicting  interests.  Wool  can  be  grown  as 
cheaply  here  as  in  any  other  country  under  the  sun.  The  very 
variety  of  our  climate  invites  to  it.  The  Territories  promise  as 
free  and  cheap  a  yield  as  Australia  and  South  America.  Why 
make  the  people  of  all  the  States  pay  toll  to  the  farmer  of  Ohio  if 
his  land  becomes  too  valuable  and  expensive  for  pasturage  and 
sheep-raising  ?  With  equal  justice  he  may  claim  protection  for 
his  wheat  because  the  centre  of  wheat-raising  keeps  moving  to 
new  and  cheap  lands.  To  what  extent  sheep-farming  as  an  indus- 
try migrates  to  cheap  lands,  and  correspondingly  declines  where 
lands  become  dear  in  consequence  of  denser  settlements,  can  best 
be  realized  by  a  glance  over  the  tables  on  the  following  page. 

The  wheat  States  of  twenty  years  ago  can  hardly  be  called  so 
now,  and  still  they  prosper  and  earn  a  fair  enough  yield  of  other 
and  more  remunerative  crops.  You  cannot  force  nature  with  a 
pitchfork,  nor  by  legislative  enactment  abrogate  eternal  laws. 
Ohio  wool  will  still  be  wanted,  as  well  as  Territory  wool,  and  it 
will  command  its  fair  price,  with  or  without  protection,  as  each 
class  of  wool  has  its  own  qualities  necessary  to  manufactures.  If 
a  free  tariff  of  wool  were  to  kill  sheep-raising,  why  did  it  not  do 


19 

so  when  we  did  have  an  almost  free  tariff  ?  Up  to  i86r,  grades 
below  20  cents  a  pound  were  free  ;  above  20  cents,  the  duty  was  24 
per  cent.  In  1S61  the  tariff  was  changed  and  remained  in  force 
till  1S64  :  Less  than  18  cents,  5  per  cent.  ;  from  18  to  24  cents,  3 
cents  a  pound  ;  above  24  cents,  9  cents  a  pound.  In  1866  the 
present  rate  of  duty  was  imposed,  or  rather  that  in  force  up  to 
the  last  change. 

RELATION  OF  SHEEP-CULTURE  TO  FARMING  IN  THE  PRINCIPAL 
WOOL-GROWING  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES  DURING  THE 
CENSUS    YEARS    1870    AND   1880. 


Number 

of  Sheep. 

0  C. 

Number 

of  Farms. 

u 
V 

aM 

States  with 

u  0  ^ 

0  ^ 

|o^ 

Rapidly  Increasing 

SgS 

is 

.5    « 

Populations. 

"   u    U 

2i  u 

0"^  5 

1870. 

18S0. 

"Q 

1870. 

18S0. 

a 

^.^^ 

New  York     .     . 

2,181,578 

1,715,180 

—  21 

216,253 

241,053 

+  II 

107. 

Pennsvlvania 

1,794.301 

1,776,598 

—      I 

174,041 

213-542 

+  23 

96 

West  Virginia    . 

552,327 

674.769 

+    22 

39,773 

62,647 

+  58 

25 

Kentucky 

936,765 

1,000,269 

+     7 

118,442 

166,453 

+  41 

41 

Tennessee 

826,783 

672,117 

—  19 

118,141 

165,650 

+  40 

37 

Missouri  . 

1,352,001 

1,411,289 

+     4 

148.328 

215,575 

4-  45 

30 

Georgia    . 

419-465 

527,589 

-f  26 

69,956 

138,626 

+  98 

26 

Ohio    .     . 

4.92S.635 

4,902,486 

—     1 

195,953 

247,189 

4-  26 

80 

Indiana    . 

1,612,680 

1,100,511 

—  32 

161,289 

194,013 

4.  20 

55 

Illinois     . 

1,568,286 

1,037,073 

—  34 

202,803 

255,741 

4_  26 

55 

Iowa    . 

855,493 

455,359 

—  47 

116,292 

185, 35r 

-f  59 

30 

Micliigan 

1,985,906 

2,189,389 

-f  10 

98,786 

154,008 

+  56 

29 

Wisconsin 

1,069,282 

1,336,807 

+  25 

102,904 

134,322 

+  31 

22 

STATES    THINLY    SETTLED    AND    TERRITORIES. 


Texas  .... 

714,351 

2,411,887 

+238 

61,125 

174,184 

+185 

6. 

Kansas     . 

109,088 

499.671 

4-358 

38,202 

138,561 

4-263 

12. 

Oregon     . 

318.123 

1,083,162 

+240 

7,587 

16,217 

+114 

1.8 

California 

2,768,187 

4.152.349 

+  50 

23.724 

35,934 

+  51 

5.6 

Utah   .... 

59,672 

233,121 

4-291 

4,908 

9-452 

4-  93 

1-75 

Colorado  . 

120,928 

•  746,433 

+517 

1.73S 

4,506 

4-159 

1.9 

New  Mexico 

619,438 

2,088,237 

+237 

4,408 

5,053 

+  13 

0.98 

Oiir  imports,  in  round  numbers,  were,  in 


Gold  Values. 


iSGo 
1861 
1862 

1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 


$5,000,000 
5,000,000 
7,000,000 

13,000,000 

16,000,000 
8,000,000 

11,000,000 


In  the  ^uasi  free  years  the  imports  were  far  less  than  in  the 
protected  ones.  From  1866  to  1870  imports  declined  ;  protection 
had  then  fairly  begun  to  bear  fruit.  The  industry  had  by  that 
time  been  fostered  to  such  an  extent  that  in  1869,  according  to 
the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  about  8,000,000 
sheep  were  killed  (the  sheep  in  the  country  being  thereby  reduced 
about  20  per  cent.),  because  sheep-raising  became  unprofitable  on 
account  of  the  over-supply.  After  that  wool  advanced  again,  and 
the  stock  was  increased,  with  the  same  result  after  a  few  good 
years.  This  process  repeated  itself  about  three  times  during  the 
last  fifteen  years.  The  average  prices  of  common  raw  wool  for 
each  of  the  ten  years  of  the  last  decade  are  given  by  the  Bureau 
of  Statistics  as  follows  : 

1870.     1871.     1872.     1873.     1874.     1875.     1876.     1877.     1878.     1879. 
36c.       35c.       26c.       23c.       22ic.      35c.       23c.       33c.        27c.       2gc. 

For  medium  Ohio  fleece,  washed,  Mr.  James  Lynch  reports  : 

1872.     1873.     1874.     1S75.     1876.     1877.     1S7S.     i87g.     1S80.     18S1. 
65c.       63c.       51C.       53c.       50c.       43c.       45c.       35c.        55c.        49c. 

In  June,  1879,  the  price  of  wool  was  lower  than  any  reached  for 
a  number  of  years.  I  was  offered  a  lot  of  wool  at  twelve  and  a 
half  cents,  that  a  few  months  later  could  not  be  bought  at  double 
the  price.  The  fluctuations  to  which  the  tariff  for  the  protection 
of  American  labor  subjects  the  prices  of  wool  are  of  a  nature  that 
cannot  but  be  disastrous  to  manufacturers  who  depend  on  that 
staple.  How  easy  it  is  to  manipulate  an  article  which  is  cut  off 
from  the  levelling  influence  of  foreign  supply  is  best  illustrated  by 
reference  to  the  wool  trade  of  1879,     A  boom  was  created  that  en- 


riched  many  speculators  and  ruined  many  more.  In  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1879,  when  prices  were  lowest,  the  wool  dealers  sent  their 
agents  secretly  into  the  wool  regions  to  buy  up  wool.  Manufacturers 
and  their  agents  did  likewise, — but  all.  very  secretly  and  stealthily. 
Neither  was  to  know  of  the  movements  of  the  other,  Meanwliile, 
the  trade  papers  made  it  their  special  business  to  prophesy  noth- 
ing less  than  a  wool  famine.  They  figured  down  to  a  pound  how 
much  wool  was  in  the  storehouses,  in  the  factories,  and  on  the 
sheep's  back.  They  proclaimed  that  the  farmers  had  no  wool,  so 
to  speak.  Now,  of  course,  a  farmer  is  but  a  mortal,  and  in  spite 
of  his  innocence,  knows  as  well  as  town-bred  folks  how  to  turn  an 
honest  penny.  So,  when  buyers  who  had  never  been  seen  before 
in  those  regions  made  their  appearance,  one  by  one,  like  conspira- 
tors in  opera-bouffe,  all  "good  friends  of  the  farmer,"  the  farmer 
had  no  wool  to  sell.  The  situation  was  appalling  ;  a  revival  of 
business  all  around ;  a  great  demand  for  woollens,  and  no  wool. 
When  "  the  good  friends,"  over-bidding  one  another,  had  succeeded 
in  raising  the  price  of  wool  to  a  point  where  there  was  no  reason- 
able hope  to  obtain  higher  points  yet,  the  innnocents  of  the  rural 
districts  suddenly  remembered  that  they  had  some  wool  ;  and  they 
did  sell  wool — grease,  sand,  and  all.  When  the  final  count  of  the 
wool  crop  of  that  year  of  famine,  1880,  was  made,  it  compared 
with  previous  years  of  plenty  as   follows  : 

(These  figures  are  from  the  official  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
Statistics.) 

Fiscal  year  1877  ,  ,  .  lbs.  wool  raised,  20S, 000,000 

"        "  1S7S  .  .  .  .        "  "  211,000,000 

"        "  187Q  .  .  ,  ,        "  "  232,000,000 

"       "  18S0  .  .  .  .       "  "  280,000,000 

Meanwhile,  buyers  were  sent  all  over  the  inhabited  world  to  buy 
wool,  Asia,  Africa,  Australia,  and  South  America  were  cleaned 
of  wool  to  satiate  the  voracious  maw  of  the  American  speculator. 
The  wool  merchants  of  London  had  little  wool  to  offer,  and  a  real 
scarcity  made  itself  felt,  and  created  a  feeling  of  great  anxiety  lest 
the  much-coveted  fleece  should  not  be  obtainable  at  all.  Our 
Argonauts  resold  a  good  deal  of  foreign  wool  to  the  panic-stricken 
English  when  the  over-supply  in  this  country  began  to  make  itself 
felt. 


22 

Imports  of  foreign  wool  in  1879  were     .  .  39,000,000    lbs. 

"  "  18S0     "        .  .  128,000,000   lbs., 

in  value  nearly  five  times  that  of  the  importations  of  i860. 

It  is  an  ill  wind  which  blows  nobody  good.  The  speculators,  at 
least,  had  no  reason  to  find  fault  with  a  tariff  for  the  protection  of 
our  home  industries.  The  sweet  nectar  of  the  boom  in  woollen 
manufactures  was  not  without  its  bitter  dregs  for  the  manufacturer, 
however.  Large  prices  were  asked,  and  large  prices  were  obtained. 
Every  spindle  was  put  in  motion,  every  card  employed  and  driven 
with  all  the  speed  that  modern  invention  could  supply.  Extra 
hands  were  set  to  work  in  relays.  But  not  all  the  promises  of  the 
commission  houses  (the  agents  of  the  mills)  were  realized.  Many 
dealers  bought  largely;  others,  mistrusting,  held  back,  only  sup- 
plying their  immediate  wants  ;  and  a  great  many  stocks  were  kept 
on  hand  that  were  made  of  high-priced  wool,  and  had  to  be  sacri- 
ficed at  a  great  reduction  and  loss  to  the  manufacturer. 

One  class  of  woollen  goods  may  serve  as  an  illustration.  Felt 
goods,  an  article  that  brought  55  cents  a  yard  in  the  early  sum- 
mer of  1879,  was  raised  in  the  spring  of  1880  to  80  and  85  cents  a 
yard.  This  price  promised  so  well  that  manufacturers  "  went  in 
heavy."  The  storehouses  were  filled  to  overflowing  to  await  the 
rapid  sales  expected  by  all  whom  it  concerned.  They  kept  on  ex- 
pecting, but  their  expectations  were  not  to  be  realized.  In  1881 
those  very  goods,  kept  over  from  the  boom  year,  were  sold — the 
very  best  goods,  expected  to  bring  85  and  even  90  cents — at  50 
and  55  cents.  One  manufacturing  concern  had  a  hundred  thou- 
sand yards  left  over,  and  sold  them  at  that  reduction.  Just  con- 
template the  havoc  created  by  protection  in  this  one  instance. 
The  consequence  was  that  of  six  felt  mills  in  Franklin,  Mass.,  op- 
erating in  1S80,  there  are  only  one  or  two  left  now  to  tell  the  tale. 
The  others  have  either  failed  or  gone  into  liquidation.  In  other 
lines  of  woollens  similar  experience  was  made,  although  the  con- 
sequences were  of  not  so  pronounced  a  character.  These  spas- 
modic changes  are  matters  of  regular  occurrence. 

Only  a  few  days  ago,  June,  1883,  an  auction  sale  of  12,000 
pieces  of  heavy  woollens  took  place  for  want  of  regular  buyers. 
But  this  was  only  the  beginning  in  a  series  of  forced  sales  of  a  like 


23 

nature  that  followed  shortly  after  in  quick  succession.  And  all  this 
under  a  tariff  for  protection  ! 

Najioleon  said  ;  "  The  world  is  governed  three  fourtlis  by  im- 
agination," 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    TARIFF    RATHER     DESTRUCTIVE     THAN     PROTECTIVE    IN 
WOOLLEN    INDUSTRIES, 

To  many  of  our  industries  protection  acts  as  a  boomerang.  In- 
tended to  crush  the  foreigner  (the  enemy  of  our  "  infant  indus- 
tries '),  it  enables  foreign  competition  to  undermine  industries 
protected  by  a  tariff  of  a  hundred  per  cent,  or  more.  We  begin 
our  inquiry  with  an  article  of  last  finish,  ready  for  immediate  use, 
cloaks. 

Cloaks  have  taken  for  the  last  few  years  the  place  of  shawls  in 
woman's  outfit.  They  are  manufactured  in  large  quantities  and 
are  represented  by  millions  of  dollars,  giving  employment  to  thou- 
sands of  men  and  women  in  mills  and  workshops.  Foreign-made 
cloaks,  up  to  the  late  revision,  have  been  paying  a  duty  of  50 
cents  a  pound  and  40  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  In  the  lower  class  of 
goods  this  is  equal  to  a  protection  of  over  100  per  cent.  The  new 
rate  is  45  cents  a  pound  and  40  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Yet  Berlin.- 
made  cloaks  are  annually  shipped  to  the  United  States  in  very 
large  quantities,  excluding  to  that  extent  American-made  goods, 
protected,  as  just  said,  at  those  high  rates.  With  such  protection 
one  should  suppose  foreign  competition  practically  impossible. 
Considering,  however,  the  degree  of  protection  which  all  materials 
enjoy  that  enter  into  a  garment,  the  solution  is  simple  enough. 

I.  Woollens  were  paying  50  cents  a  pound  and  35  percent,  ad 
valorevi,  new  rate  35  cents  a  pound  and  35  per  cent,  ad  valorem^ 
and  goods  above  80  cents  a  pound  35  cents  and  40  per  cent.  As 
this  is  the  "poor  man's  government,"  it  is  natural  enough  that 
the  poor  man  is  taxed  heaviest.  On  his  clothing  he  still  pays 
nearly  double  the  rate  of  the  rich  man.  Goods  of  an  inferior 
quality  and  value,  heavily  loaded  with  cotton,  shoddy,  dye-stuffs, 

24 


etc.,  pay  from  loo  to  150  per  cent.;  fine  goods  made  of  pure  wool 
of  the  finest  texture  pay  from  60  to  80  per  cent. 
The  old  and  new  tariffs  bear  the  following  relation  ; 


A  cheap  cloth,  costing  in  Germany  or  England, 
.say    75     cts.   a   yd.,  weighing  28  oz.   weight 
duty  =  ...... 

and  ad  valorem  duty       .         .         . 


Old  Tariff  50  cts.  j  New  Tariff  35  cts. 
and  35  per  cent,  i  and  35  per  cent. 


87ic. 
26| 


.I3f  or  152  i 


6rc. 
264- 


87^01  ii6-^ 


Goods  of  American  make,  corresponding  in  value,  sold  from 
first  hand  at  prices  ranging  from  $1.75  to  $1.90  per  yard.  New, 
desirable  goods,  in  consequence  of  the  recent  tariff  enactment,  are 
offered  now  at  about  Si-S°- 


New  Tariff. 
35  and  40  per  cent. 


2.     Fine  Woollens  costing  at  the  foreign  place 
of  export  $2  a  yard,   and  of  like  weight 
weight  duty  ...... 

ad  valorem  duty  =         .  . 


$1.41  or  10^  ^ 


There  is  still  a  very  large  discrepancy  between  the  fine  and  the 
coarse  fabrics. 


Old  Tariff. 
50 and 35  percent. 

New  Tariff. 
35  and  40  per  cent. 

Take  finer  goods,  Coatings,  costing  12  s.  or  $3. 
Weight  24  oz.  = 
ad  valorem  duty  =          ,          .          . 

75c. 
1.05 

524. 
1.20 

$1.80  or  60  % 

$1.72!  or  53  % 

The  finer  the  goods,  the  lower  the  rate  of  duty  ;  the  coarser, 


26 

the  higher  the  rate  :  inviting  the  importation  of  finer  cloths  and 
stimulating  an  over-production  of  coarse,  unsightly,  trashy  goods, 
filling  the  storehouses  to  overflowing,  only  to  be  relieved  by  forced 
auction  or  sheriff's  sales. 

This  proportion  of  burdens,  laid  upon  the  poor  man's  shoulders 
by  a  providential  government,  runs  through  the  whole  list  of 
woollen  goods. 

3.  Italian  cloths,  used  for  linings,  pay  the  same  proportion  of 
duties. 

4,  Trimmings,  made  of  wool,  escape  the  weight  duty  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  as  their  weight  is  about  balanced  by  what  falls  off  the 
material  in  cutting  the  cloth.  Woollen  plushes  are  now  used 
most  extensively  for  cloak  trimmings,  linings,  and  cloaks.  They 
are  imported  in  large  quantities.  The  manufacturer  who  uses 
them  for  his  American-made  goods  pays  at  the  following  rates  : 


Old  Rate. 
50  and  35  per  cent. 

New  Rate. 
35  and  35  per  cent. 

A  low  quality  of  velour  costs  iSd.  English=36c. 
Weight,  28  ounces  at  50c.  =  weiglit  duty 
ad  valorem  duty  =         .          .          .          . 

87ic. 

I2i 

6tc. 

$1.00  or  277  ^ 

73^  or  204  J? 

A  fine  seal  plush  costs  20s.  English  =  $4.80 
Weight,  28  ounces  at  50c.  = 
35  %  ad  valorem  =          .          .          .          . 

87*c. 

6ic. 

$1.92 

$2.45  or  51  ^ 

$2.53  or  52|-  % 

Silk,  silk  ornaments,  silk  laces,  etc.,  if  imported  in  the  piece 
have  been  paying  60  per  cent,  and  are  now  reduced  to  50  per 
cent,  ad  valorem.  If  on  cloaks,  as  trimmings,  they  only  pay  40  per 
cent,  ad  valorem,  as  their  weight  duty  is  infinitesimal  in  propor- 
tion to  their  value. 

5.  Sewing  by  hand  receives  poorer  wages  than  most  other 
work  in  Europe  ;  the  lesser  cost  of  making  a  garment  is,  therefore, 
greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  foreign  manufacturer. 

Under  the  old  tariff  law  protection   heaped   heavier   charges 


27 

upon  the  manufacturer  than  were  remitted  to  him  in  protecting 
the  finished  goods. 

"  Though  this  be  madness,  yet  there  's  method  in  it." 

The  new  tariff  gives  him  an  even  chance.     To  illustrate  I  will 
give  an  accounting  of  the  manufacturing  cost : 


FOREIGN  CLOAKS  IMPORTED. 

Old  Tariff  50  cts. 
and  40  per  cent. 

New  Tariff  45  cts. 
and  40  per  cent. 

a.)     Cheap  quality,  I2  marl-cs,  $3.00  =  specific 
3  pounds  =             ..... 
40  %  ad  valorem  =         . 

$1.50 
1.20 

$1.35 
1.20 

$2.70  or  90  % 

$2.55  or  85^ 

0.)     Finequality,  5omarks,$r2.50,  saraeweight 
40  %  ad  valorem.  ==..,, 

$1.50 
5.00 

$1-35 
5.00 

$6.50  or  ^o'fo 

$6.35  or  49  fo 

Now  let  us  examine  into  the  relative  cost  of  these  two  classes 
of  cloaks,  cost  of  component  parts  in  Berlin,  and  brought  to  New 
York  made-up,  with  duty  and  expenses  added,  and  New-York- 
made  cloaks  and  cost  of  component  parts  under  both  tariffs  : 

In  this,  my  price-statement,  a  margin  of  profit  is  left  to  the  cloak 
maker  in  Berlin,  but  none  to  the  American  manufacturer.  Most 
of  the  foreign  importations  are  consigned,  and  under-valuation,  in 
the  finer  grades  especially,  frequently  further  discriminates  in 
favor  of  foreign  makers. 

This  may  serve  as  an  example  of  the  kind  of  protection  most  of 
our  highest  advanced  industries  obtain  by  "our  well-balanced 
tariff  system."  Were  it  not  for  the  difficulty  of  foreign  adaptation 
to  American  style  and  fashion,  this  would  be  one  of  the  American 
industries  for  which  an  epitaph  would  soon  be  wanted.  As  it  is, 
the  industry  is  flourishing  in  spite  of  protection.  The  annual  pro- 
duction of  cloaks  is  estimated  to  exceed  thirty  millions  of  dollars. 


28 


Manufacturer's  Cost  Price  in 

Berlin. 

New  York 
Old  Tariff. 

New  York. 
New  Tariff. 

a)     2  yards  Cloth 

•J  yard  Satin  or  Silk    ..... 
Buttons  and  Italian  Cloth 

Making 

Factory  Expenses            .... 

Discount    ....... 

Profit 

$1.50 
25 
15 
35 
15 
15 
45 

$3.70 
40 
30 
65 
50 
30 

$3.00 
37i 
30 
65 
42i 
30 

$3.00 

$5.85 

$5.05 

Berlin  Cloaks  landed  in  New  York,  old  tai  it?  rate 

$3.00 
2.70 

$3.00 
new  rate  2.55 

Total 

$5-70 

$5-55 

l>.)    2  y.-irds  Cloth           ..... 

Silks  and  Fringes        ..... 

Buttons,  etc.            ..... 

Making      ....... 

Factory  Expenses            .... 

Discount    ....... 

Profit      

$4.00 
4.00 
1. 00 

1. 00 

75 

75 

1. 00 

$7-15 
6.40 

I. CO 

2.00 

1-75 
1.25 

$6.82 
6.00 
1. 00 
2.00 
1.50 

1-25 

$12.50 

$19-55 

$18.57 

Berlin  Cloaks  landed  in  New  York,  old  tariff  rate. 

§12.50 
6.50 

_   $12.50 
new  tariff     6.35 

Total 

$19.00 

$18,85 

CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    TARIFF    ON    WOOL    AND    RAW    MATERIALS    THE    ONLY    CAUSE 
OF    OUR   INABILITY    TO    COMPETE. 


But  why  not  reduce  the  tariff  on  woollens  to  relieve  the  cloak 
manufacturers  ?  Well  this  is  an  equally  simple  story.  The  manu- 
facturer of  woollens  is  not  much  better  off  than  the  cloak  maker. 
>ee  what  a  load  he  has  to  carry. 


29 

(i)  Raw  wool  has  been  paying  lo  cents  a  pound  and  ii  per 
cent,  ad  valorem.  The  shrinkage  extends  often  to  65  per  cent. 
On  scoured  wool  the  tariff-charges  were  30  cents  a  pound  and  ^-^ 
per  cent.  ^^z/^ZsT^w,  or  three  times  the  rate  of  grease  wool.  A 
pound  of  foreign-grown  wool  has  cost  accordingly  from  35  to  40 
cents  more  before  being  used  by  an  American  spindle  than  it  cost 
an  English  spindle  to  spin  it  into  yarn. 

Under  a  general  weakening  of  wool  prices,  American  wools  had 
come  down  to  within  two  to  three  cents  of  the  full  foreign  price 
inclusive  of  duties  and  charges.  This  has  induced  the  Tariff 
Commission  to  recommend  and  Congress  to  enact  the  abolition  of 
the  ad-valorem  tax  on  wool.  The  specific  tax  remains  unchanged  : 
ten  cents  on  a  pound  of  wool  grease  and  dirt.  (To  offset  this 
great  sacrifice,  the  price  limit  has  been  reduced  and  all  wools  over 
30  cents  have  to  pay  12  cents  a  pound  as  against  the  same  rate  on 
wools  over  32  cents,  as  before.  These  finer  grades  are  the  wools  we 
are  mostly  in  need  of  to  diversify  our  fabrics,  but  are  excluded  under 
this  almost  prohibitory  measure.  But  the  infants  are  very  much 
chagrined,  even  with  this  concession,  at  that  ruinous  reduction,  as 
they  say,  and  threaten  the  formation  of  a  national  organization  to 
agitate  a  restoration  of  the  old  rates.)  This  reform  measure  leaves 
the  American  wool  manufacturer  in  his  wool  supply  in  the  follow- 
ing position  toward  his  foreign  competitor  :  (Table  furnished 
by  Mr.  James  Lynch.) 


^ 

^■J? 

■9 

u 

3 
0 

■6 

c 
.2 

15W 

c  . 

>,T3 

Description. 

u 

0. 

M 

C3 

a 

u 
u 
Ii 

a. 

o 
•a 
c 

3 
•0 

0 

J30 

■3. 

<D   C. 
0   X 

3  d 

hi  g 

Bo    . 

1=1 

«  0  ? 

°o 

*J  0 
c  0 

3  M 

15 

0     p 

1)^  IS 

CO    C3    nj 

e  **  >- 

i«8 

u  0  w 

W 

P^ 

hJ 

a, 

Ph 

> 

< 

^ 

Buenos  Ayres       .     .     . 

70 

.30 

10 

13c. 

77 

43^ 

33i 

77 

Montevideo      .      .     .     . 

5(3 

44 

10 

20c. 

50 

4Tf- 

22^- 

■^6-^ 

Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

66 

34 

10 

1 6c. 

62! 

46.2 

29.2 

63i 

Port  Philip       .... 

56 

44 

10 

27c. 

37-2 

6ii 

22 1 

371 

After  this  great  and  liberal  reduction  of  11   per  cent,  the  tariff 
remains  yet  37^  to  77  per  cent,  ad  valorem — fully  equal  to   if  not 


higher  than  the  original  war  tax.  Just  think  of  it — 37I-  to  77  per 
cent,  tax  on  a  raw  material,  wool,  that  is  imported  free  of  duty  by 
all  industrial  nations,  not  by  any  means  as  favorably  situated  as  we 
are  for  the  production  of  this  most  necessary  staple.  Of  course, 
the  lowest  grades  pay  the  highest  duties,  as  in  all  enumerations  of 
our  wonderful  tariff. 

Foreign  wools  have  declined  in  price  since  the  war  tariff  was 
imposed,  so  that  even  with  this  reduction  the  percentage  is  on  the 
average  fully  as  high  as  it  was  ten  years  ago,  as  will  be  seen  by 
this  table  : 


1^ 

] 

872. 

i832. 

J 

0 

>, 

>, 

^ 

0 
0 

>, 

1  3 
•0 

0 

>> 

•0 

Descriptioa. 

0 

d 

"O 

!^^- 

0 

•a 

0 

■y  0 

0 

&s 

o-t; 
^  0 

0 

y 

-o 

OS  a 

•nP 

««• 

G 

<U  V 

0 

c  0. 

<uW 

u 

^ 

u 

v 

Ph 

Ph 

Ph 

CU 

fi-, 

Ph 

.c 

Vi 

A 

Buenos  Ayrcs 

10  cts.,  and 

\\% 

16 

73* 

10 

14 

7if 

f1 

Peru,  middling          .... 

" 

30 

44^ 

10 

22 

457 

"3 

Eastern,  Cape  of  Good  Hope 

" 

32 

42i 

10 

24 

4it 

a 

Port  Philip,  average  fleece     . 

12  cts.,  and 

10  fc 

34 

45 

10 

24 

4i| 

After  England,  we  are  now  the  largest  wool-consuming  nation. 
Our  exclusion  of  foreign  wools  naturally  throws  all  the  advantages 
of  depressed  foreign  markets  into  the  hands  of  the  foreign,  princi- 
pally English,  wool-spinner.  We  act  as  this  depressing  influ- 
ence, which  the  foreign  manufacturer  is  using  with  telling  blows 
against  our  own  industries,  despite  all  our  efforts  at  protection. 
Given  free  wool,  the  price  on  the  other  side  would  advance  and 
prevent  our  foreign  competitors  from  ruling  the  markets  of  the 
world,  both  as  buyers  of  wools  and  sellers  of  woUens, 

(2)  Shoddy,  woollen  rags,  mungo,  and  wool  waste  pay  10  cents 
(formerly  12  cents)  a  pound,  fully  50  per  cent,  of  the  foreign 
price. 

(3)  Dyestuffs,  chemicals,  and  other  ingredients  cost  our  manu- 


31 

facturers  fully  50  per  cent,  more  on  the  average  than  their  Eng- 
lish competitors  have  to  pay. 

(4)  Coal  (bituminous)  pays  a  duty  of  75  cents  a  ton.  This 
precludes  the  New  England  manufacturer  from  using  the  coal  of 
the  adjacent  coal-fields  of  the  British  possessions,  and  enables  the 
Pennsylvania  owner  of  coal  mines  and  transportation  lines  to 
charge  "what  the  market  will  fetch." 

{5)  Heavy  machinery  composed  of  iron  that  pays  $6.72  a  ton, 
or  60  per  cent.,  bar-iron  75  per  cent,,  and  steel  that  pays  45  per 
cent.,  costs  vastly  more  than  English  machinery. 

The  cost  of  factory  buildings  and  machinery  is  fully  double  that 
of  the  English  mills  ;  interest  charges,  etc.,  consequently,  more  than 
twice  as  high  as  those  of  the  British  manufacturer. 

With  not  one  half  the  means  of  circulation  at  her  command,  the 
industrial  production  of  England,  per  capita,  is  nearly  twice  that 
of  ours. 

Our  inflated  prices,  largely  due  to  the  tax  on  raw  materials, 
cause  a  constant  sharp  demand  for  money,  and  a  consequent 
higher  rate  of  interest.  All  of  which  burdens  add  heavily  to  our 
cost  of  production,  without  furthering  the  condition  of  manufact- 
urers and  laborers  one  iota. 

It  would  be  a  moderate  estimate  to  say,  that  protection  adds 
fully  75  cents  to  the  cost  of  a  yard  of  6-4  cloaking  that  is  now 
sold  in  this  market  at  prices  ranging  from  $1.75  to  $2. 

Our  woollen  manufacturers  could  at  once  compete  with  the  for- 
eign manufacturer  under  a  moderate  tariff,  of  not  more  than  25 
per  cent.,  if  they  had  not  this  tremendous  dead  weight  (of  taxes  on 
raw  material,  dyestuffs,  machinery,  etc.)  to  carry.  But  they  cling 
frantically  to  a  delusion.  They  imagine  that  they  would  be 
drowned  without  protection,  and  do  not  see  that  the  threatening 
waves  are  an  hallucination  of  their  excited  brains. 

Our  imports  in  woollens  in  1880  amounted  to  ^35,000,000, 
about  the  same  as  in  1870. 

Our  production  in  the  latter  year  was  $173,000,000.  Duty, 
charges,  and  gold  premiums,  added  to  the  imports,  gave  them  (at 
the  lowest  average,  65  per  cent,  duty,  5  per  cent,  charges,  15  per 
cent,  premium)  a  currency  value  of  nearly  $70,000,000.  In  other 
words,  we  imported  $40  worth  for  every  $10.0  worth  which  we 


32 

manufactured,  at  a  time  when  we  were  most  thoroughly  protected 
by  a  tariff  imposed  to  exclude  foreign  woollens. 

In  1882  we  imported  $38,000,000,  adding  duties  and  charges, 
then  this  is  fully  equal  to  30  per  cent,  of  the  extraordinary  pro- 
duction of  the  boom  year  with  its  largely  inflated  prices  in  wool- 
lens and  worsteds  ;  inclusive  of  all  the  low,  mixed  textiles  of  which 
our  mills  are  such  prolific  producers. 

In  fine  goods  we  cannot  compete  with  foreign  nations  in  our 
own  markets,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  computation  of  specific 
rates,  given  above.  The  consequence  is,  that  our  manufacturers 
turn  their  attention  almost  wholly  to  one  and  the  same  class  of 
goods — with  what  results  can  be  learned  from  the  long  list  of  fail- 
ures in  our  v/oollen  industries  during  the  last  ten  years. 

Even  now,  after  two  years  of  prosperous  trade,  following  the 
long  depression,  we  are  again  verging  on  a  repetition  of  that  dis- 
astrous period,  when  woollen  mills  were  sold  under  the  hammer 
and  went  begging  for  buyers  at  one  quarter  their  original  value.' 

This  is  what  protection  is  doing  for  our  woollen  industry.  Well 
may  protectionist  apostles  proclaim  that  "  protection  "  reduces 
prices.  The  sentence  can  have  but  one  meaning,  namely,  that 
protection  invites  an  excess  of  capital  and  labor  into  protected 
enterprises,  and  ultimately  ripens  thereby  so  keen  a  competition 
that  ruin  follows  to  all  concerned  in  these  industries.  At  best,  a 
proceeding  of  a  decidedly  questionable  morality,  if  this  is  the 
conscious  aim  of  our  protectionists.  The  consumer,  however,  is 
reaping  small  benefit  from  this  "  price-reducing  character  of  pro- 
tection." The  tax  on  raw  material  is  sufficiently  high,  and  its 
prices  are  so  easily  kept  to  their  full  limit,  that  ruin  may  overtake 
the  producers  of  articles  made  of  these  raw  materials,  and  yet 
no  perceptible  relief  be  given  to  the  consumer.  But  even  the 
farmer  is  not  benefited,  though  he  is  made  to  believe  that  his 
interest  is  pre-eminently  advanced  by  this  wool  tax.  The  farmer 
and  the  sheep-raiser  by  no  means  represent  the  same  interest.     A 

*  According  to  a  careful  estimate,  about  60,000  cases  of  American  diy  goods, 
cotton  and  woollen  goods,  have  been  sold  at  public  auction  and  at  ruinous 
prices  since  the  opening  of  the  fall  season  till  September,  18S3  ;  each  succeeding 
sale  bringing  poorer  returns  than  the  former.  But  they  continue  to  be  brought 
on  as  the  only  means  of  relief  of  an  over-production  that  has  no  other  outlet 
than  an  overburdened  home  market. 


33 

correct  review  of  the  case  must  convince  the  farmer  that  he  is 
the  loser  in  the  game.  We  raised  in  the  census  year  35,000,000 
sheep,  more  or  less,  distributed  among  4,000,000  of  farmers,  which 
number,  evenly  divided,  would  give  each  farmer  nine  sheep.  Now 
it  is  a  known  fact  that  all  States  whose  lands  become  valuable  on 
account  of  denser  settlement,  decrease  the  number  of  their  sheep  ; 
as  sheep-culture,  on  a  scale  larger  than  that  required  for  the  raising 
of  mutton,  becomes  unprofitable  with  the  development  of  agri- 
culture.    Wool  then  is  considered  an  incidental  profit  only. 

The  large  wool-growers  use  the  millions  of  farmers  who  produce 
little  wool  simply  as  cat's-paws  to  get  their  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire. 
The  burdens  which  every  farmer  has  to  carry  as  a  consumer  of 
woollen  goods,  are  at  least  four  times  as  high  as  the  amount  he 
would  get  more  for  his  wool,  if  all  sheep  raised  in  the  United 
States  were  equally  divided  among  each  and  every  farmer.  They 
would  get  nine  sheep  each.  These  nine  sheep  give  about  fifty-five 
pounds  of  raw  wool,  which,  at  a  protection  of  ten  cents,  gives  him 
^5.50  protection.  His  clothing  and  woollen  wear  for  himself  and 
family  cost  him  an  average  of  fully  $50,  which  $50  is  about  twice 
what  he  would  need  under  free  wool.  Consequently,  in  woollen 
goods  alone  he  has  to  pay  a  tax  of  $25  from  his  earnings,  while  his 
imaginary  earnings  from  sheep-raising  average  only  $5.50.  I  do 
not  add  to  this  calculation  the  high  price  of  his  tools,  of  his 
machinery,  his  agricultural  implements,  and  household  utensils, 
which  are  equally  enhanced  in  price  by  this  obnoxious  system  of 
tariff  legislation. 

The  wool  clip  of  the  United  States,  taking  the  highest  estimate, 
is  about  250,000,000  pounds,  raw.  Averaging  the  whole,  high  and 
low  grades,  at  30  cents  a  pound,  will  give  us  an  aggregate  of  S75>" 
000,000.  Our  woollen  industry — manufacturers' value — is  ^26-j,- 
000,000.  Ready-made  clothing,  woollen  shirts,  cloaks,  etc., 
manufactured  out  of  these  goods,  amount  now  to  fully  ^250,- 
ooo,coo.  We  have,  therefore,  industries  amounting  in  the  aggre- 
gate to  over  ^500,000,000,  whose  very  existence  is  based  on  this 
raw  material  and  its  liberal  supply  at  reasonable  and  stable  prices. 
The  woollen  industries  employ  167,000  persons  ;  the  ready-made 
clothing  and  other  kindred  industries  fully  250,000.  Manufactur- 
ing interests  of  over  ^500,000,000  and  the  daily  bread  of  nearly 


34 

half  a  million '  of  working  people  depend  upon  this  staple.  A  tax 
of  ten  cents  a  pound  on  raw  wool  amounts  for  this  large  clip  to 
only  ^25,000,000.  To  pay  a  bounty  of  ten  cents  a  pound  to  the 
sheep-raiser,  admit  wool  and  its  substitutes  free,  and  take  this 
disturbing  element — tax  on  wool — out  of  our  manufacturing  in- 
dustries and  commercial  relations,  would  be  less  of  a  national 
waste  than  the  present  system.  A  tax  on  raw  materials  is  not 
like  a  tax  on  finished  goods.  A  tax  on  raw  materials  is  equal  to 
its  own  amount,  plus  the  usual  percentage  of  gross  profit,  multi- 
plied by  the  number  of  procedures  through  which  it  has  to  pass 
until  it  reaches  the  consumer  in  the  finished  state.  A  protection 
of  $25,000,000  on  wool  keeps  swelling  and  swelling  at  each  inter- 
mediate stage  until  it  reaches  the  consumer,  and  may  be  called 
nearer  a  hundred  million  of  dollars  when  it  goes  into  consumption 
in  its  most  finished  state,  without  any  adequate  advantage  to 
manufacturer,  workingman,  or  consumer.  I  do  not  see  why  all 
these  interests  should  be  sacrificed  to  the  maker  of  the  raw 
material.  His  plant  is  the  free  soil  of  the  prairie  and  the  genial 
sky  of  the  United  States.  The  manufacturer  is  differently  situ- 
ated. He  has  large  interests  at  stake.  He  cannot  stop  his  works 
at  will.  Very  frequently  the  existence  of  a  whole  village  depends 
on  one  mill,  A  stoppage  of  work  is  like  the  failing  of  crops  in 
agricultural  districts.  If  protracted,  the  organization  will  have  to 
disband,  the  workmen  will  have  to  find  other  employments  out- 
side of  their  wonted  circle,  or  they  and  their  dependents  would 
perish  from  starvation.  The  manufacturer,  on  the  other  hand, 
if  he  permitted  their  migration,  would  find  himself  without  hands 
if  reviving  demand  should  call  for  the  renewed  activity  of  his 
factory.  Hence  he  often  keeps  his  mill  going  at  a  great  loss. 
All  these  considerations  are  foreign  to  the  wool-grower.  His 
help  is  easily  replaced.  His  machinery  is  not  eaten  by  rust.  He 
can  easily  keep  his  product  within  the  limits  of  demand  without 
injurious  effects  to  any  one.  Why  then  consider  protection  for 
him  any  more  necessary  than  for  the  beef-raiser,  the  pork-raiser, 
the  grower  of  corn,  wheat,  and  cotton,  and  for  all  the  cultivators 
of  our  free  soil  ? 

'  Counting  three  dependents  to  one  wage  earner,  they  represent  a  population 
of  two  millions. 


35 

Therefore,  if  any  aid  were  needed,  I  should  invoke  it  for  the 
manufaciurer  and  his  help,  but  not  for  the  raw  nialerial. 

Protection  of  industries  and  taxes  on  raw  materials  cannot  co- 
exist. Taxes  on  raw  material  inevitably  lead  to  decay  of  manu- 
facturing industries.  Either  one  or  the  other  has  to  give  way. 
There  is  no  choice,  no  alternative.  If  our  industries  are  to  lead 
an  active,  healthy  life,  then  all  and  every  tax  from  raw  materials 
has  to  be  taken  off  the  statute-book.  No  scaling-down-horizontal- 
reduction  will  do.  The  beginning  must  be  made  at  the  bottom 
of  the  structure.  When  once  introduced  this  reform  will  work 
wonders.  Our  manufacturers  will  then  show  in  a  very  brief  time 
how  easily  they  can  compete  with  Europe.  They  will  learn  that 
the  lowest  rates  are  more  protective  than  the  present  "  protective 
system." 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE  TARIFF  ON  STEEL  RAILS  A  FURTHER  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE 
EFFECTS  OF  PROTECTION.  ALSO  A  BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE 
GREAT  SLAUGHTER  OF  THE  INNOCENTS  BY  THE  COMBINED 
BRITISH  CAPITALIST, 

Protectionists,  in  arguing  their  case,  remind  one  of  the  hare  of 
Baron  Munchausen,  who  eluded  all  the  attempts  of  that  famous 
hunter  to  hunt  him  down.  Finally,  the  Baron  discovered  that  the 
hare  had  two  sets  of  legs — one  set  below,  like  all  honest  quadru- 
peds, and  another  set  on  his  back.  When  he  got  tired  on  his  or- 
dinary legs  he  turned  over  and  continued  the  run  on  his  spare 
legs. 

One  argument  of  the  protectionists  is,  that  protection  is  needed 
for  the  protection  of  our  working  classes  and  manufacturers.  When 
pressed  with  the  rejoinder  that  the  rise  in  the  prices  of  all  com- 
modities counterbalances  the  advantages  of  higher  wages,  then 
they  put  themselves  on  their  spare  legs  and  point  with  pride  to  the 
influence  of  the  tariff  to  reduce  prices.  Absurd  as  this  argument 
may  appear,  it  is,  nevertheless,  used  altogether  too  frequently 
not  to  call  for  refutation.  If  the  tariff  acts  in  this  way,  then  why 
have  a  tariff  ?  If  protectionists  admit  that  its  principal  function 
is  not  performed — viz.,  the  function  of  maintaining  prices  and  their 
necessary  consequence — high  wages, — then  the  sooner  we  abolish 
it  the  better  for  all  concerned. 

The  protectionists  simply  give  up  their  case  as  hopeless  when 
they  bring  this  evidence  into  court.  Prices,  of  course,  have  been 
cheapened,  as  shown  before.  They  are  in.  all  industries  cheaper 
than  during  the  springtide  of  protection.  Prices  always  work  tow- 
ard a  common  level — cost  of  production  plus  a  moderate  profit. 
They  do  it  the  more  quickly  the  more  influences  are  at  work  to 
stimulate  over-production  ;  and  a  protective  tariff  is  such  an  influ- 
ence.    Prices,  however,  can  never  reach  a  true  level,  that  of  for- 

36 


37 

eign  competition,  while  raw  materials  are  protected.  Our  prices 
may  become  low  enough  to  ruin  all  manufacturers,  and  still  be 
higher  than  those  at  which  foreign  manufacturers  can  work  at  a 
profit  and  export  their  surplus.' 

The  injurious  influence  of  a  high  tariff  is  further  visible  in  the 
fluctuations  of  prices.  At  times  of  great  demand  prices  are  apt  to 
be  raised  to  the  highest  rates  which  the  tariff  allows,  to  be  reduced 
again  at  times  of  stagnation  to  a  correspondingly  low  figure.  When 
patent  rights  exclude  home  competition,  prices,  of  course,  can  be 
more  easily  maintained  up  to  the  importing  price.  Steel  rails  and 
all  steel  made  on  the  Bessemer  process  are  manufactured  by  a  great 
monopoly. 

The  right  to  manufacture  Bessemer  steel  in  the  United  States  is 
owned  and  exercised  by  "The  Bessemer  Steel  Company,  Limited," 
which  is  a  consolidation  of  former  organizations  and  owners  of 
various  patents,  both  foreign  and  American,  including  the  Besse- 
mer and  Kelley  patents.  Although  the  Bessemer  patent  has  run 
out,  still  all  later  improvements  and  inventions  governing  this  pro- 
cess, and  protected  by  patents,  have  been  bought  and  are  now 
owned  by  this  same  company.  Under  the  above  monopoly 
thirteen  works  were  running  and  two  additional  ones  were  erected 
in  1881.  The  monopolists  owning  these  patents  were,  by  virtue 
of  this  ownership,  enabled  to  get  all  that  the  tariff  allowed  them  to 
take — that  is,  the  price  of  the  foreign  article  plus  duty  and  charges 
for  railroad  and  ocean  freight,  commission  charges,  and  inland 
transportation,  which  I  compute  as,  on  the  average,  ^7  a  ton.  The 
duty,  a  specific  duty,  up  to  July  ist,  18S3, — $28  a  ton  ;  conse- 
quently, after  fifteen  years  of  its  existence,  was  thrice  as  high  as  at 
the  time  when  the  tariff  charge  was  enacted,  the  prices  of  foreign 
rails  having  come  down  to  about  a  third  of  their  original  cost.  Our 
prices  simply  had  to  follow  English  prices  in  their  decline.  Our 
steel  men  did  not  do  any  thing  more  than  yield  to  the  inevitable. 

Let  us  compare  prices  and  find  out  what  the  tariff  has  done  in 
this  instance  :  186S — American  rails,  currency,  $158.  English 
rails,  gold,  $61.50  ;  duty  $28  ;  charges  and  freight,  $7  ;  gold  pre- 
mium, 40  per  cent.;  currency  price,  $135. 

'y^// industrial  nations,  whether  of  a  free-trade  or  protective  character,  admit 
raw  materials  free  of  duty.  This  sorry  distinction  is  left  wholly  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States.     See  Appendix  I. 


43297S 


38 

Here  we  have  a  larger  discrepancy  than  in  later  years.  Steel 
rails  in  that  year  were  not  produced  in  large  quantities — 2,500 
tons.  The  price  of  $158  is,  therefore,  largely  illusory,  especially 
as  the  price  of  an  article  that  fluctuates  so  largely  as  steel  rails 
cannot  be  given  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  and  where  one  price, 
the  English,  may  have  been  noted  at  one  period  and  the  American 
at  another  period  of  the  year.  But  they  come  close  enough  to 
show  the  relative  bearing  to  one  another. 


American  Steel  Rails. 

English  Steel  Rails. 

Currency. 

Gold. 

Duty. 

Freight. 

Gold 
Premium 
per  cent. 

Currency 
Price 

1S69 
IS70 
1871 

1872 

1873 
1874 

1875 
1876 
1877 

1878 

1879 
1880 

$132  00 

106  75 

102   50 

112  00 

120  00 

94  00 

63  75 

59  25 

45  50 

42  25 

48  25 

67  50 

$55  00 
51  00 
55  00 

67  00 
80  00 

68  75 
44  28 
32  00 
29  00 
25  00 
25  00 
35  00 

$23 
28 
28 
28 

28 
28 
28 
28 
28 

23 

28 
28 

$7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 

•33 
•  15 
.12 
.10 

.8 

$120 

99 
102 
112 
123 
no 

85 
70 
66 
60 
60 
70 

Now  compare  supply  and  demand  of  corresponding  years  : 


Home  Production. 

Imported  Rails. 

Miles  of 

Railroads 

Iron. 

Steel  Rails. 

Iron. 

Steel. 

Built. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

Tons. 

i863 

459,500 

2,500 

163,000 

2,979 

1869 

584,000 

7,200 

313,000 

4-615 

1870 

586,000 

34,000 

399,000 

6,070 

1871 

737,500 

38,200 

566,000 

7,379 

1872 

906,000 

94,000 

381,000 

150,000 

5,878 

1873 

761,000 

129,000 

99,000 

160,000 

4,107 

1874 

584,000 

145,000 

8,000 

100,000 

2,105 

1875 

502,000 

291,000 

1,000 

18,000 

1,712 

1S76 

467,000 

412,000 

287 

2,712 

1877 

333,000 

432,000 

2,281 

1878 

323.000 

550,000 

2,687 

1879 

420,000 

683,000 

ig.ooo 

25,000 

4,721 

1880 

494,000 

954,000 

132,000 

158.000 

7,174 

39 

From  1S69  to  1873  railroad  building  had  assumed  proportions 
far  in  excess  of  any  thing  previously  experienced.  Neither  our 
iron  nor  steel  works,  then  in  their  infancy,  were  able  to  satisfy  the 
enormous  demand.  From  1S69  to  1873  we  built  28,000  miles  of 
our  roads,  against  9,000  miles  for  the  preceding  five  years  and 
6,000  miles  for  the  five  years  from  1859  to  1S63.  In  the  five  years 
following  1873 — ^^"^s  panic  year — railroad  building  was  reduced  to 
a  little  over  11,000  miles.  The  demand  from  1869  to  1S73  drew 
increasingly  from  foreign  supply.  We  imported  2,000,000  tons  of 
iron  and  steel  rails  and  manufactured  3,850,000  tons.  During 
this  period,  when  we  had  a  supply  of  near  6,coo,oco  tons,  the 
price  of  the  home  product  was  kept  up  to  the  price  of  the  foreign 
article,  plus  import  duty  and  charges.  For  the  five  years  after  the 
panic  our  importations  only  amounted  to  118,000  tons  of  steel  rails 
and  9,000  to;is  of  iron  rails  ;  total,  127,000  tons.  And  this  im- 
portation took  place  during  tbe  first  two  years  of  the  period.  Dur- 
ing the  succeeding  three  years  importations  entirely  ceased. 

The  demand  was  60  per  cent,  less  than  through  the  previous 
period.  This  and  increasing  means  of  supply  by  the  home 
plant  caused  a  corresponding  reduction  in  prices,  irrespective  of 
foreign  prices.  In  view  of  such  facts  it  is  rather  startling  to  meet 
frequently  with  statements  of  which  the  following  may  serve  as  an 
example  : 

"  Prior  to  the  manufacture  of  Bessemer  steel  in  this  country,  the 
lowest  price  at  which  steel  rails  could  be  imported  was  $150  per 
ton.  At  that  price  American  manufacturers  knew  that  they  could 
profitably  compete  with  the  world,  and,  accordingly,  enterprising 
proprietors  of  American  iron-works  invested  very  large  sums  of 
money  in  the  purchase  of  patents  under  which  alone  such  rails 
could  be  produced.  But  when  they  came  to  put  the  rails  upon 
the  market  they  were  met  with  the  best  quality  of  British  rails  at 
$120  per  ton.  Their  capital  was  invested,  and  so  their  first  sales 
were  at  the  latter  price.  Their  foreign  rivals,  with  an  enormous 
combination  of  capital,  knew  the  value  of  the  American  market, 
and  determined  to  retain  it,  and  offered  the  rails  at  ^100.  Ameri- 
can manufacturers,  with  all  their  science  and  mechanical  skill, 
could  not  overcome  this  competition  of  the  combined  iron-masters 
of  Great  Britain,  and  hence  it  was  deemed  absolutely  necessary  to 


4° 

invoke  the  protection  of  the  government  to  the  labor  and  enter- 
prise of  its  citizens,  who  were  yet  in  the  infancy  of  this  new  pro- 
duction." 

The  very  reverse  took  place.  The  gold  price  of  steel  rails  in 
England  ran  from  $55  in  1869  and  S51  in  1870  to  $80  in  1873, 
and  our  prices  were  raised  to  the  same  level,  adding  duty  and 
charges.  When  the  demand  had  slackened,  our  steel-masters 
reduced  their  prices  to  half-way  between  the  foreign  price  at  the 
works,  and  that  with  the  duty  and  charges  added,  wisely  consid- 
ering that  half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread  at  all.  Conse- 
quently, it  was  not  that  the  'combined  capital  of  England" 
stepped  forth  to  assault  our  "struggling  infant  industry,"  but  that 
that  very  ogre  John  Bull  took  good  care  to  get  all  he  could  for 
his  wares,  and  by  no  action  of  his  were  our  great  beneficiaries 
prevented  from  raising  theirs  accordingly,  from,  say  $100  gold  in 
1S69  and  $92  gold  in  1870  to  $102  gold  in  1872  and  $112  gold  in 
1S73.  After  the  collapse  of  1873  that  same  wicked  Britisher  and 
combined  capitalist  did  not  reduce  the  price  of  his  rails  to  a 
point  sufficiently  low  to  allow  them  to  be  imported  and  to  com- 
pete with  ours,  but  he  kept  up  his  price,  and  even  then,  after  our 
demand  had  ceased,  he  took  all  he  could  get  from  his  other  cus- 
tomers, and  a  very  sharp  decline  took  place  only  then  when  these 
other  customers  had  also  been  forced  by  collapses  and  crashes  to 
forego  railroad  building  for  a  while. 

When  in  1879  railroad  building  had  taken  a  new  great  start, 
then  the  same  John  Bull  raised  the  price  of  his  merchandise  from 
^25  to  ^35,  and  our  poor  struggling  steel  men  followed  in  his 
wake,  and  the  price  of  their  goods  was  raised  from  $48  to  ^67  and 
^70,  and  for  a  brief  period  even  to  ^90 — the  full  pound  of  flesh  the 
tariff  allowed  them  to  take.'  These  are  the  facts  lying  behind  that 
great  conspiracy  of  the  "combined  iron-masters  of  Great  Britain  " 
that  plays  so  important  a  part  in  the  argument  for  protection  of 
our  "infant  industries."  Alas  for  human  ingratitude  !  Twice  in 
the  course  of  a  decade  our  arch-enemy  had  an  opportunity  to  kill 
and  destroy  our  "  infant  ";  or  at  least  to  stunt  its  growth,  by  keep- 
ing British  prices  down  to  the  low  figures  that  were  ruling  in  Eng- 
land, before  the  American  booms  had  set  in.  But  with  singular 
*  The  close  adaptation  of  American  prices  to  English  prices  at  times  of  great 


41 


generosity  and  self-restraint,  characteristic  of  his  noble  quaUties  of 
mind,  the  Briton  forbore  to  make  use  of  this  golden  opportunity 
to  rid  himself  of  a  rival,  and  gave  instead,  free  vent  to  his  virtuous 
impulse  of  making  all  the  money  he  could  out  of  the  revival  of 
trade,  "  Truly,"  as  Ernest  Renan  says  of  the  Jews,  "this  is  the 
way  things  always  go  :  if  one  v/orks  for  humanity,  one  may  be  sure 
to  be  robbed  first  and  then  to  be  kicked  in  the  bargain." ' 

This  is  about  the  only  industry  to  which  protection  proved  of 
enormous  benefit.  Their  monopoly  enabled  the  Bessemer-steel- 
makers to  regulate  the  supply  so  as  to  make  the  tariff  pay  them 
all  it  promised,  and  it  must  be  said  that  they  made  good  use  of 
their  opportunity.  The  Vulcan  Steel  Works  at  St.  Louis  are 
reported  to  have  received  1^400,000  during  the  hard  times  from 
the  combination  as  a  bonus  for  not  running  their  works.  It  is 
not  mentioned  that  the  workingmen  received  any  wages  during 
that  time  of  enforced  idleness.  When  we  shall  be  informed  on 
good  authority  that  they  were  paid  their  share  out  of  that  common 
fund,  then  I  will  score  one  in  favor  of  protection. 

While  rails  in  1880  had  within  a  year  risen  from  $42  to  $90,  the 
present  price,  September,  1883,  is  $38.'^     This  decline  is  not  at  all 


demand,  can  best  be  followed  up  by  reviewing  the  monthly  quotations  of  both 
during  the  boom  : 


1879. 


October  2 
October  23 
November  13  , 
December  i 


January  i 
February  5 
March  4   . 
April  I 
May  6       . 
June  10 
July  I      . 


American 
Steel  Rails. 


English  Rails  in  New  York. 


P50  00 
50  00 
60  00 
63  00  —  66  00 


70  00  —  72  50 
85  00  —  90  00 
70  00  —  81  00 
76  00  —  80  00 
6s  00  ^ —  70  00 
58  00  —  60  00 
58  00  —  60  00 


$23  to  25 
24  to  27 
24  to  27 
32  to  37 


5°  to  55 
46  to  50 
46  to  50 

38 

30 
28 


Duty, 
etc. 


Full 
Price. 


85  —  90 


(From  the  Iron  Age). 

*  "  C  est  toujours  ainsi  que  les  choses  se  passent  :  quand  on  travaille  pour 
r  humanite,  on  est  sur  d'  etre  vole  et,  par  dessus  le  marche,  d'  etre  battu." 
'  Some  Sales  are  reported  as  low  as  $35.00, 


42 

due  to  any  concerted  action  of  our  hereditary  foes  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Enghsh  rails  are  now  about  ^5,  or  round 
$25.  Under  the  old  tariff,  they  would  have  cost  nearly  ^60,  to  be 
laid  down  at  American  competing  points,  and  would  cost  from  ^48 
to  $50  under  the  revised  tariff.  The  increased  output  of  vastly 
augmented  plant,  lured  into  existence  by  colossal  profits,  has 
brought  prices  to  this  tumble,  and  some  mills  that  had  spread  too 
much  were  exposed  to  failure  and  ruin.  Thousands  of  working- 
men  are  consigned  to  their  homes  to  cogitate  over  the  insufficiency 
of  tariffs  to  provide  bread  for  their  families,  when  mills  have  to 
shut  down  for  want  of  markets  for  their  goods. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  AUTOCRATS  OF  THE  TREASURY  MAKE  DECISIONS  THAT 
ARE  PLEASING  TO  THE  INFANTS.  THE  LATTER  PACK  COI\I- 
MISSIONS  WITH  THEIR  OWN  MEN,  AND  CONGRESSIONAL  COM- 
MITTEES ACT  AS  THEIR  PLIANT  TOOLS.  BUT  THERE  IS 
MANY  A  SLIP  BETWEEN  THE  CUP  AND  THE  LIP.  ALSO  AN 
ACCOUNT  OF  A  DIVISION  OF  PROFITS  BETWEEN  THE  INFANTS 
AND  THEIR  WORKMEN. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  shown  what  the  tariff  compels 
the  country  to  pay  for  steel  rails,  in  e.Kcess  of  natural  prices,  to  a 
gigantic  monopoly,  under  favorable  circumstances.  Bad  as  the 
indictment  stands  for  the  tariff,  worse  remains  to  be  told.  The 
famous  Bloom  question  is  an  illustration  of  what  the  country  has 
to  expect  yet  from  this  instance  in  class-legislation. 

When  the  tariff  was  framed,  the  Bessemer  process  was  hardly 
known  in  this  country.  It  was  just  about  being  introduced  in 
very  feeble  attempts.  The  English  works  were  far  behind  what 
the  industry  became  later  on.  The  cheapening  influence  of  the 
new  process  had  not  made  very  great  strides,  and  prices  were  still 
very  high.  Taking  ^80  as  a  fair  average  price  for  English  Besse- 
mer rails,  then  $28  is  just  35  ^ex  cent,  ad  valorem.  Farther  on, 
the  tariff  acts  from  1865  to  1870  all  enumerate  as  follows  (based 
on  the  value  of  crucible  steel)  :  Steel  in  ingots,  bars,  coils,  and 
sheets,  if  valued  at  7  cents  or  less  per  pound,  duty  aj^f  cents  per 
pound,  which  is  about  35  per  cent.;  if  above  7  cents,  and  not 
more  than  11  cents  per  pound,  duty  3  cents  per  pound,  averaging 
again  35  per  cent.;  valued  above  11  cents  per  pound,  duty  3^ 
cents  and  10  per  cent.,  equal  to  about  the  same  rate  in  the  mean- 
ing of  the  law  ;  in  any  other  form  not  otherwise  provided,  30  per 
cent.;  and  manufactures  of  steel,  not  otherwise  provided  for,  45 
per  cent. 

I  have  been  trying  to  be  very  exact  in  this  statement,  because 

43 


44 

I  wish  to  impress  on  the  reader's  mind  that,  although  the  duty  on 
steel  is  a  specific  one,  yet  it  is  apparent  from  the  figures  given  in 
the  act  that  it  was  never  meant  to  be  more  than  from  30  to  35  per 
cent,  ad  valorem  on  steel  in  its  cruder  forms  and  45  per  cent,  on 
manufactures  of  steel.  As  a  rule  tariff  laws  are  not  enacted  on 
hypothetical  cases  that  may  arise,  but  are  based  on  facts  and 
figures  as  they  do  exist  and  as  they  are  known  to  the  commercial 
world.  The  tariff  was  not  meant  in  this  instance  to  be  any  thing 
more  than  30  per  cent.,  or  at  the  utmost  35  per  cent.  Manufactures 
of  iron,  including  machinery,  are  rated  at  35  per  cent.,  and  manu- 
factures of  steel,  including  machinery  and  tools  wherein  steel  is 
used,  are  rated  at  45  pel  cent.,  ad  valorem.  Wherever  an  ad-valorem 
duty  is  mentioned  in  the  various  acts,  machinery  and  tools,  with 
all  the  skill  and  labor  required  for  their  production,  are  taxed  45 
percent,  against  crude  steel  at  30  per  cent. 

Judge  French,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  a  Treasury 
decision  on  appeal  says  : 

"The  intent  of  the  law  of  1864,  regulating  the  duties  on  iron 
and  steel,  seems  to  have  been  to  impose  a  duty  of  thirty  to  fifty 
per  cent,  upon  the  coarser  articles  of  steel,  although  the  reduction 
in  value  of  steel,  consequent,  in  part,  upon  improved  processes 
of  manufacture,  has  greatly  changed  the  symmetry  of  the  original 
act.  The  decisions  of  the  department  from  1867  to  the  present 
time  have  regarded  steel  blooms  as  subject  to  the  duties  imposed 
upon  manufactures  of  steel,  and  upon  the  faith  of  these  decisions 
parties  have  entered  into  large  business  transactions  ;  and  the 
department  is  still  of  opinion  that  this  classification  is  correct, 
and  therefore  adheres  to  such  decision." 

All  this  must  be  conclusive  evidence  that  no  higher  rate  of 
duties  on  steel  in  its  cruder  stages  of  manufacture  was  contem- 
plated by  the  framers  of  tlie  law  than  30  per  cent. 

Had  the  duty  been  an  ad-valorem  duty — equal  to  the  rate  as 
levied  when  the  Bessemer  steel  process  was  really  in  its  infancy, 
/.  ^.,  30  per  cent. — then  the  tariff  would  have  been  on 


Railroad  bars    . 

.     $7  00 

instead  of 

.     $28  00 

InfTots 

6  00 

instead  of 

50  00 

Billets      . 

7  50 

instead  of 

50  00 

Bars 

9  00 

instead  of 

50  00 

45 

Now,  not  all  stages  of  steel  manufacture  are  mentioned  in  the 
tariff.  Steel  blooms  are  not  so  enumerated.  They  are  the  first 
stage  of  progress  from  the  ingot.  They  egter  into  all  sorts  of 
manufactures  from  a  rail  to  a  machine.  According  to  the  tariff 
act  they  could  not  come  under  any  different  classing  than  at  the 
rate  of  30  per  cent  or  45  per  cent.  The  latter  rate  was  the  one 
assessed  for  a  number  of  years.  An  importing  firm  opened  the 
way  for  the  importation  of  steel  blooms  by  making  inquiry  at  the 
department  before  they  engaged  in  the  importation.  They  were 
informed  that  that  was  the  rate  of  duty  under  the  ruling  of  the 
Treasury  Department.  The  first  and  subsequent  importations 
were  passed  and  continued  to  be  passed  at  that  rate  (45  percent.) 
for  several  years,  from  1S79  to  iSSi.  With  the  upstart  of  busi- 
ness in  1879  so  large  a  demand  in  rails  sprang  up  that  the  Besse- 
mer mills  could  aot  produce  the  steel  so  fast  as  they  could  roll  it 
into  rails,  and  they  were  using  foreign  steel  in  addition  to  their 
own  product,  and  they  took  the  blooms  at  that  rate  of  duty. 
Soon,  however,  they  desired  a  new  deal.  They  were  willing 
enough  to  have  blooms  that  had  the  required  dimensions  for  rails 
entered  as  blooms,  at  45  per  cent.,  but  wanted  all  smaller  sizes, 
from  five  inches  down,  appraised  as  bars,  or  at  a  rale  of  200  per 
cent.  The  same  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Judge 
French  in  a  very  accommodating  spirit  consented  to  the  mudest 
request,  and  gave  a  decision  in  distinct  contradiction  of  his  former 
ruhng,  in  which  he  had  said  : 

"  Blooms  may  be  of  various  qualities  and  shapes,  accordir.g  to 
the  purposes  for  which  they  are  intended.  If  intended  for  the 
manufacture  of  small  articles,  as  tools  and  cutlery,  the  bloom  may 
be  small,  and  is  then  reheated  and  further  rolled  and  hammered 
and  cut  into  pieces  of  convenient  size  for  handling,  known  as 
billets,'" 

So 'blooms  may  be  of  various  qualities  and  shapes  according 
to  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  intended,"  and  be  blooms  still 
and  pay  45  per  cent.  Yet  on  the  5th  of  October,  1881,  in  a  letter 
of  instruction  to  the  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Philadelphia,  Assist- 
ant Secretary  French  confirms  the  decision  of  the  Collector,  classi- 
fying 3/2  in.  blooms  as  steel  in  bars  dutiable  at  2^  cents  a  pound. 
This  new  decision  was  not  very  advantageous  to  the  Treasury  of 


46 

the  United  States,  Judge  French  must  have  been  aware  of  the 
consequence  of  such  a  decision,  as  he  says  in  his  decision  of  1879  : 
"  But  this  duty  "  (mentioning  then  a  much  smaller  one — 1}{  cents) 
"  would  be  prohibitory,  and  should  not  be  adopted,  unless  the 
demands  of  the  law  imperatively  require  it."  The  law  did  not 
require  any  such  distinction.  The  majesty  of  the  law  was  not 
offended  by  calling  blooms  what  they  were  christened — blooms. 
Why  these  sudden  pangs  of  conscience  ? 

The  importers,  not  satisfied  with  this  discrimination,  appealed 
to  Judge  Folger.  He  relieved  blooms  down  to  five  inches  only, 
stating  that  he  could  not,  under  the  law,  reverse  former  decisions 
of  the  Treasury  Department,  but  admitted  that  all  blooms  ought 
to  be  passed  at  30  per  centum,  at  which  rate  he  would  have  all 
blooms  classified  if  he  were  not  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the 
erroneous  decisions  of  his  predecessors. 

Now,  gentle  reader^  you  will  begin  to  see  the  purport  and  mean- 
ing of  those  innocent-looking  measures,  known  as  the  McKinley 
bill  of  18S2,  and  the  Tariff  Commission  bill  of  that  year  (which 
was  simply  a  second  and  more  comprehensive  attempt  of  the  rings 
to  rush  their  measures  through  Congress),  with  their  proviso  that  all 
unclassified  raw  materials  and  crude  manufactures  shall  pay  the 
highest  rates  levied  on  the  specified  articles. 
The  McKinley  bill  read  as  follows  : 

"Be  it,  etc.,  enacted  that  Title  33  of  the  Revised  Statutes  be 
amended  by  adding  to  Schedule  E  of  said  title,  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  Provided  that  on  all  iron  and  steel  and  on  all  manufactures, 
wares,  vessels,  and  articles  of  iron  or  steel,  or  of  which  such 
metals  or  either  of  them  shall  be  the  component  part  or  material 
of  chief  value,  whether  wholly  or  partially  manufactured,  there 
shall  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid  no  less  rate  of  duty  than  the  duty 
or  rate  of  duty  imposed  upon  said  goods,  or  upon  any  part  or  mate- 
rial of  said  goods,  in  any  of  the  forms  in  which  it  or  they  last  ex- 
isted prior  to  their  passing  into  the  form  or  article  on  which  the 
duty  is  to  be  levied. 

"  This  act  shall  not  apply  to  nor  in  any  manner  affect  the  arti- 
cles specifically  enumerated  in  this  title  by  their  commercial  desig- 
nation, but  shall  only  apply  to  the  articles  designated  in  this  title 


47 

as  manufactures  of  steel  or  of  which  steel  shall  be  a  component 
part  not  otherwise  provided  for  ;  steel  in  any  form  not  otherwise 
provided  for  ;  manufactures,  articles,  vessels,  and  wares  not  other- 
wise provided  for  of  iron,  or  of  which  iron  shall  be  the  component 
material  of  chief  value  ;  metals  unmanufactured  not  otherwise  pro- 
vided for  ;   and  castings  of  iron  not  otherwise  provided  for." 

In  plain  English,  the  meaning  of  the  bill  was  this  :  "  That  all 
articles  designated  in  this  title  as  manufactures  of  steel,  or  of 
which  steel  shall  be  a  component  part,  not  otherwise  provided  for, 
— steel  in  any  form  not  otherwise  provided  for  " — shall  hereafter 
pay  a  tax  of  loo  to  200  per  cent,  to  the  Bessemer-steel-makers,  in- 
stead of  the  30  per  cent,  that  was  originally  laid  on  steel. 

The  Tariff  Commission,  in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  the 
steel  interest,  was  prepared  to  admit  all  blooms  not  less  than  5 
inches  square  at  6-10  of  one  cent  a  pound,  or  ^13.44  a  ton,  at 
present  value  equal  to  a  duty  of  64  per  cent.  This  size  can  only 
be  used  by  railmakers.  Under  present  conditions  this  rate  would 
be  as  prohibitory  as  if  tlie  rate  were  $50.  The  railmakers  all  make 
their  own  steel.  All  other  sizes  used  by  our  manufacturing  indus- 
tries the  Commission  had  classified  as  follows  :  "  Steel  ingots, 
cogged  ingots,  blooms,  etc.,  etc."  (here  follows  a  long  list  of 
enumerations),  "  less  than  5  inches,  valued  at  5  cents  a  pound  or 
less,  2  cents  per  pound  ;  valued  above  5  cents  and  not  above  9 
cents  per  pound,  2^  cents  per  pound  ;  valued  at  above  9  cents, 
^%  cents  per  pound."  For  Bessemer  steel  in  ingots,  bars,  blooms, 
billets,  etc.,  there  are  no  such  valuations.  The  Commissioners 
might  as  well  have  said  "a  dollar  or  less."  Instead  of  5  cents  a 
pound  or  $112  a  ton,  the  values  are  as  follows  (in  smaller  sizes 
there  may  be  a  difference  of  a  few  dollars  a  ton)  : 

Value. 
Bessemer  Ingots  ..........  $20 

Blooms  ...........  21 

Billets 23 

TARIFF,  PROPOSED    BY    THE    COMMISSION, 

On  Bessemer  Ingots  $44  40,  equal  to,  ad  valorem,  .         .         222  per  cent. 

Blooms  44  40,       "  '*  ...         211  percent. 

Billets    44  40,       "  "  ...  193  per  cent. 


48 

In  order  to  make  no  more  mistakes,  like  the  one  that  opened 
the  door  to  the  entry  of  blooms  at  a  low  rate,  the  steel  interest 
further  ordained  as  follows  : 

"  Provided,  that  all  metal  produced  from  iron  or  its  ores,  which 
is  cast  and  malleable,  of  whatever  description  or  form,  without 
regard  to  the  percentage  of  carbon  contained  therein,  whether 
produced  by  cementation,  or  converted,  cast,  or  made  from  iron 
or  its  ores,  by  the  crucible,  Bessemer,  pneumatic,  Thomas  Gil- 
christ, basic,  Siemens-Martin,  or  open-hearth  process,  or  by  the 
equivalent  of  either,  or  by  the  combination  of  two  or  more  of  the 
processes  or  their  equivalents,  or  by  any  fusion  or  other  process 
which  produces  from  iron  or  its  ores  a  metal  either  granular  or 
fibrous  in  structure,  which  is  cast  and  malleable,  excepting  what 
is  known  as  malleable  iron  castings,  shall  be  classed  and  denomi- 
nated as  steel." 

"  Steel  in  any  form,  not  specially  enumerated  or  provided  for  in 
this  act,  three  cents  per  pound,"  $67.20  per  ton.  The  old  tariff 
says  :  "  Steel  in  any  other  form  not  otherwise  provided  for,  30 
per  centum  ad  valorem'''  Thirty  per  centum  on  steel  not  classi- 
fied raised  to  300  per  cent.! 

The  enactment  of  this  marvellously  audacious  scheme  would 
have  ruined  all  the  manufacturers  of  steel  manufactures,  machin- 
ery, tools,  and  implements,  and  made  of  the  Bessemer  men  one 
great  consolidated  monopoly,  second  only  to  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  The  tariff  on  "  manufactures,  articles,  or  wares,  com- 
posed wholly  or  in  part  of  iron,  steel,  etc.,  was  to  be  45  per  cent, 
ad  valorem  "  against  200  per  cent,  on  steel.  The  steel  ring  knew 
that  this  scheme  could  not  have  been  carried  without  the  aid  of 
some  other  powerful  combination  in  Congress.  Such  a  combina- 
tion was  in  fact  standing  ready  in  close  phalanx  to  renew  the  old 
alliance.  The  wool-growers  were  equally  desirous  to  push  for 
more  "government  subsidy."  The  bargain  found  expression  in 
the  proposition  of  the  Commission  for  a  slight  reduction  in  the 
wool  schedule,  as  mentioned  in  one  of  the  foregoing  chapters, 
but  a  doubling  of  rates  in  washed  wools  of  class  No.  II  and 
No.  Ill,  and  a  classification  of  cow's  hair,  hitherto  free,  as  wool, 
and  the  levying  of  corresponding  duties.  This  was  the  sop  to 
"  the  farmer. " 


49 

The  guardians  of  the  interests  of  the  people,  the  House  of 
Representatives,  or  rather,  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Kelley,  made  haste  to  prepare  a  bill 
containing  all  the  above  enumerated  iron-clad  provisions.  They 
were  all  framed  by  the  rings  of  iron  and  steel  men  or  their 
representatives.  Vigorous  opposition  was  made  in  the  Senate. 
Under  the  able  leadership  of  Mr.  Beck,  from  Kentucky,  the  scheme 
was  defeated.  The  new  law  makes  45  per  cent,  the  rate  for  all 
forms  of  steel  under  4  cents  a  pound.  This  is  virtually  more  tlian 
the  old  law  intended  it  to  be.  (The  courts  have  meanwhile  de- 
cided that  30  per  cent,  was  to  be  the  rate  for  all  blooms  imported 
under  appeal.)  Considering,  however,  that  the  new  and  definite 
rate  of  45  per  cent,  solves  the  long-pending  uncertainty,  our  manu- 
facturers may  well  be  pleased  in  having  escaped  the  greater 
danger,  at  least  for  the  time  being. 

But  even  under  this  new  tariff  law  manufacturers  of  finished 
goods  in  the  iron  and  steel  line,  machinery,  tools,  hardware,  etc., 
are  in  about  the  same  condition  in  which  manufacturers  of 
woollen  goods,  cloaks,  etc.,  find  themselves.  Their  condition 
would  be  greatly  improved  by  absolute  free  trade.  They  are 
protected  by  a  tariff  of  45  per  cent.,  but  have  to  pay  the  following 
tariff  advances  on  English  prices  : 

On  ore,  75  cents  a  ton,'  equal  to  30  per  cent. 

Pig-iron  pays  $5.72,  or  about  60  per  cent. 

Bar-iron  pays  according  to  size,  from  $17  to  $24.64  a  ton,  or 
equal  to  ad-valorem  rates  of  60  to  75  per  cent. 

Sheet-iron,  $24.64  to  $33.60  a  ton,  or  equal  to  ad-valorem  rates 
of  62I-  to  75  per  cent. 

'  This  is  an  advance  over  the  rale  of  the  old  tariff,  which  was  20  per  cent. 
The  new  tariff  law  raises  this  to  75  cents  to  please  Mr.  Mahone  and  a  few 
wealthy  mine-owners. 

It  is  quite  a  phenomenon,  that  the  more  our  infants  mature,  the  more  tliey 
need  the  protecting  nurse. 

THE  AVERAGE  INVOICE  VALUE  OF  FORErCN  ORE  WAS  IN 

1872 §2  oS,  duty  20  per  cent.,  41^  cents. 

1873 2  25,   "      "    45   " 

1875 2  57,    ''       "    SiJ  " 

1S73 2  14,  "43 

1882 2  86,    "       "    57   " 

Forty-one  and  three-fourth  cents  was  sufficient  in  1872  to  protect  the  great 
industrial  skill  required  in  ore-digging.  Ten  years  later,  under  an  advance  of 
foreign  ore  prices,  57  cents  did  not  protect,  and  the  duty  had  to  be  raised  to 
75  cents.  According  to  the  census,  nearly  two  tons  of  ore  were  used  in  the 
making  of  a  ton  of  pig-iron,  equal  to  a  charge  of  $1.50  on  a  ton,  instead  of 
$1.14  on  the  price  of  1882,  and  83  cents  on  tliat  of  1872.      * 


so 

Hoop-iron,  ^22.40  to  $31.36  a  ton,  or  equal  to  ad-valorem  rates 
of  65  to  85  per  cent. 

Copper  in  plates,  bars,  Chili  pigs,  etc.,  4  cents  a  pound,  or 
$89.60  a  ton,  equal  to  ad-valorem  rate  of  about  30  per  cent. 

Copper,  rolled  plates,  35  per  cent. 

Steel,  of  all  kinds  and  in  any  form  of  less  value  than  4  cents  a 
pound,  45  per  cent. 

The  reader  will  see  at  a  glance  how  much  more  the  manu- 
facturer of  metal  goods  has  to  pay  in  mostly  all  instances  for  his 
materials  than  he  gets  back  in  the  tariff  on  manufactures.  All 
of  these  discriminations  against  him  he  has  to  ov^ercome  by 
superior  methods  and  greater  efficiency  of  labor. 

The  steel  makers  are  dissatisfied,  and  will  try  again  undoubt- 
edly. I  wish  them  good-speed,  and  strength  to  their  elbows. 
Reforms  are  usually  accelerated  more  by  the  unmeasured  de- 
mands and  arrogant  presumptions  of  those  enjoying  privileges 
and  monopolies  than  by  preachings  and  appeals  to  the  suffering, 
apathetic  victims. 

How  well  tiie  United  States  Government  has  been  caring  for 
these  "infants,"  however,  in  the  past,  may  be  seen  from  this  state- 
ment of  one  year's  business  : 

The  Bulletin  of  the  American  Iron  and  Steel  Association  of 
January,  1880,  says  : 

"In  the  following  table  we  give  the  prices  at  Philadelphia  and 
in  Pennsylvania  of  various  iron  and  steel  products  on  the  ist  of 
January,  1879,  and  the  ist  of  January,  1880,  with  the  percentage 
of  increase  in  the  intervening  year.  The  prices  are  fair  average 
prices  :  " 


ARTICLES. 


Jan.  I, 
1879. 


Jan 

1800. 

$35 

00 

71 

68 

70 

00 

57 

00 

4 

25 

36 

00 

34 

00 

Per  cent. 

of 
Increase. 


No.  I  anthracite  foundry  pig-iron  in  Philadelphia 

Best  relined  bar-iron  in  Philadelphia    . 

Bessemer-steel  rails  at  works  in  Philadelphia 

Best  iron  rails  in  Philadelphia 

Cut  nails  hy  the  keg  in  Philadelphia    . 

Old  iron  rails  in  Philadelphia 

No.  I  wrought  scrap  in  Philadelphia    . 


I17  00 

42  56 

42  00 

34  00 

2  10 

19  00 

20  00 


106 

63 

67 

63 

102 

89 


51 

Assuming  that  this  increase  was  realized  for  the  product  of  the 
mills  for  the  year  (from  July  i,  1S79,  to  June  30,  18S0),  then  the 
profits  must  have  been  enormous,  as  may  be  seen  by  multiplying 
the  product  by  the  extra  price  realized  over  that  of  1879.  I 
know  very  well  that  the  iron  and  steel  men  will  say  that  those 
prices  were  not  realized  all  through.  But  considering  the 
enormous  demand  that  followed,  and  continued  increasingly 
even,  we  may  allow  ourselves  to  believe  that  that  year's  product 
did  not  fall  much  short  of  those  prices.  Tlie  Bulletin  goes  on 
to  say  : 

"  But  the  most  remarkable  fact  in  connection  with  the  history 
of  the  American  iron  trade  of  1879  remains  to  be  stated.  Not- 
withstanding all  the  activity  that  has  been  mentioned,  the  demand 
for  pig-iron,  iron  and  steel  rails,  and  iron  ore  was  not  met,  and 
many  orders  have  been  carried  over  to  the  new  year  which  con- 
sumers sought  in  vain  to  have  filled  in  1879." 

It  is  safe,  therefore,  to  say  that  the  "  boom  "  which  animated 
the  iron  trade  during  the  whole  of  the  fiscal  year  of  18S0  (the 
census  year)  gave  the  iron  and  steel  mills  all  the  tariff  allowed 
them  to  charge  in  excess  of  the  foreign  price  and  freight. 


PRODUCT  OF  MILLS. 

Tons. 

Duty. 

Profit 
Guaranteed 
by  Tariff. 

Pig  iron.           ..... 

Bar  and  rod  iron 

Plate  and  sheet  iron    .... 

Iron  rails                .... 

Other  products             .... 

Steel  rails,  etc.     .... 

Steel  bars,  etc.             .... 

3,780,000 
808,000 
532,000 
467,000 
540,000 
741,000 
242,000 

7 
22  40 
3360 
1568 
22  40 
28  00 
5000 

$25,500,000 
18,000,000 
18,000,000 
7,500,000 
12,000,000 
21,000,000 
12,000,000 

$114,000,000 

This  is  what  the  tariff  did  for  the  iron  and  steel  men 

in  the  year  of  the  boom       ....         $114,000,000 
The  wages  of  140,978  workingmen  were      .         .  55,476,000 


Even  allowing  for  the  toll  iron  and  steel  manufacturers  had  to 
pay  to  the  pig-iron  men,  it  can  be  safely  maintained  that  to  all  of 


52 

those  poor  stipendiaries  and  claimants  a  tariff  for  the  protection  of 
the  American  workingman  proved  to  be  something  more  than  a 
mere  catchword.  Of  course  the  medal  has  a  reverse,  the  same  as 
in  the  woollen  line,  over-supply  making  itself  felt  as  soon  as  the 
demand  slackens.  The  iron  and  steel  men,  however,  had  a  better 
opportunity  to  feather  their  nests.  They  had  prepared  for  a  rainy 
day.  It  is  only  the  workingman  who  again  fared  as  the  Indian 
did.  Said  the  white  hunter  :  "  Here  is  crow  for  you  and  turkey 
for  me,  and  here  is  turkey  for  me  and  crow  for  you." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

IN  WHICH  IT  IS  SHOWN  THAT  WE  ARE    SUPERIOR  TO    ALL    NATIONS 
IN  MANUFATURING  SKILL  AND  PHYSICAL  ABILITY. 

I  here  rest  ray  case,  so  far  as  "protection  of  our  industries"  is 
concerned,  and  beg  the  kind  reader  to  follow  me  through  the 
chapter  :  "We  are  a  young  nation,  and  as  such  cannot  compete 
with  the  older  nations  of  Europe."  This  chapter  will  have  no 
ponderous  figures  to  be  worked  through.  It  will  be  pleasant 
writing  and  reading  ;  for  who  does  not  wish  to  hear  from  his  most 
formidable  rival  the  acknowledgment  of  his  superiority  wherever 
the  intellect  is  called  to  play  in  subduing  the  inertness  of  matter  ? 
Let  me  simply  quote  unimpeachable  authorities  : 

The  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  in  February,  1750,  appointed 
a  commission  whose  chairman,  after  a  few  days  of  deliberation, 
brought  in  a  bill  which  permitted  American  iron  in  its  rudest  form 
to  be  imported  duty  free  ;  but,  now  that  the  nailers  in  the  colonies 
could  afford  spikes  and  large  nails  cheaper  than  the  English,  it 
forbade  the  smiths  of  America  to  erect  any  mill  for  slitting  or 
rollmg  iron,  or  any  plating-forge  to  work  with  a  tilt-hammer,  or 
any  furnace  for  making  steel.  The  House  divided  on  the  pro- 
posal that  every  slitting  mill  in  America  should  be  abolished. 
The  clause  failed  by  a  majority  of  only  twenty-two  ;  but  an  im- 
mediate return  was  required  of  every  mill  already  existing,  and 
the  number  was  never  to  be  increased."  (George  Bancroft, 
quoted  in  Mr.  Swank's  Report  on  Iron  and  Steel.) 

This  policy  was  continued  by  Great  Britain  up  to  the  time  of 
the  War  of  Independence.  It  shows  what  an  exalted  opinion 
England  had  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago  of  America  and  her 
industries.  I  may  be  told  in  reply  that  this  does  not  apply  to 
these  times,  with  their  thousand-fold  increased  and  improved 
appliances.  Well  we  have  kept  pretty  well  up  to  the  times.  An 
American  will  never  stand  back  if  you  only  give  him  a  chance. 

53 


54 

I  will  quote  from  most  recent  authorities.  The  E7!ginecr,  of 
London,  of  the  7th  of  January,  1881,  says  : 

"  The  United  States  iron-masters  are  beating  us  by  100  per  cent, 
in  the  output  from  their  plant.  With  one  pair  of  converters  they 
can  do  as  much  and  more  than  we  can  do  with  two  pairs  ;  and, 
while  our  blast  furnaces  turn  out  4S0  tons  of  pig  per  week,  theirs, 
much  smaller,  give  as  much  as  1,100  tons  a  week.  In  the  rail 
mills,  and  bar  and  steel  mills,  matters  are  in  much  the  same  con- 
dition. If  we  are  asked  to  what  is  this  superiority  due,  we  reply 
that  it  is  to  be  traced,  to  some  extent,  to  better  organization,  and 
in  others  to  better  plant.  In  the  Bessemer  works,  for  example, 
the  drill  of  the  men  employed  is  perfect,  and  a  converter  is  never 
stopped  for  days  while  being  lined-up  and  rebottomed. 

"  In  the  United  States,  for  a  long  time  back,  the  moment  a 
converter  is  burned  out  it  is  taken  away,  and  a  new  one  is  put  in 
its  place.  The  operation  requires,  we  understand,  about  half  an 
hour  at  the  most.  In  how  many  English  steel  works  is  the  same 
plan  pursued  ?  A  great  deal  of  the  blast-furnace  plant  of  Great 
Britain  is  antiquated,  and  the  sooner  it  is  replaced  with  more 
modern  plant  the  better." 

This  and  similar  quotations  are  contained  in  Mr.  Swank's 
report  to  the  Census  Bureau,  consequently  approved  by  him.  He 
himself,  the  Secretary  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Association  of  Amer- 
ica, consequently  unimpeachable  protectionist  authority,  makes 
the  following  statements  as  to  the  efficiency  of  American  iron-  and 
steel-makers  : 

'*  Although  this  country  cannot  produce  iron  and  steel  as 
cheaply  as  European  countries  which  possess  the  advantages  of 
cheap  labor  and  proximity  of  raw  materials,  it  is  not  excelled  by 
any  other  country  in  the  skill  which  it  displays,  or  the  mechanical 
and  scientific  economies  which  it  practises  in  any  branch  of  their 
manufactures,  while  in  certain  leading  branches  it  has  displayed 
superior  skill  and  shown  superior  aptitude  for  economical  improve- 
ments.    Our  blast-furnace  practice  is  the  best  in  the  world. 

"  The  excellent  quality  of  our  pig-iron  is  universally  conceded. 
Our  Bessemer-steel  practice  is  also  the  best  in  the  world.  We 
produce  much  more  Bessemer-steel  rails  in  a  given  time  by  a 
given  amount  of  machinery,  technically  termed  a  plant,  than  any 
of  our  European  rivals. 


55 

"  All  of  our  leading  iron  and  steel  works,  and  indeed  many  of 
our  small  works,  are  now  supplied  with  systematic  chemical 
investigations  by  their  own  chemists,  who  are  often  men  of 
eminence  in  their  profession.  The  managers  of  our  blast  furnaces, 
rolling-mills,  and  steel-works,  are  themselves  frequently  well-edu- 
cated chemists,  metallurgists,  geologists,  or  mechanical  engineers, 
and  sometimes  all  of  these  combined.  Our  rapid  progress  in  in- 
preasing  our  production  of  iron  and  steel  is  not  merely  the  result 
of  good  fortune  or  the  possession  of  unlimited  natural  resources, 
but  is  largely  due  to  the  possession  of  accurate  technical  knowl- 
edge by  our  iron-masters,  and  by  those  who  are  in  charge  of  their 
works,  combined  with  the  characteristic  American  dash  which  all 
the  world  has  learned  to  respect  and  to  admire." 

What  is  said  here  of  iron  and  steel  manufacture  may  be  said  of 
most  of  our  leading  industries.  As  to  cotton  goods.  State  Depart- 
ment Report  No.  12,  "Commercial  Relations  of  the  United 
States,"  page  98,  says  : 

"  Undoubtedly,  the  inequalities  in  the  wages  of  English  and 
American  operatives  are  more  than  equalized  by  the  greatei 
efficiency  of  the  latter  and  their  longer  hours  of  labor.  If  this 
should  prove  to  be  a  fact  in  practice,  as  it  seems  to  be  proven 
from  official  statistics,  it  would  be  a  very  important  element  in 
the  establishment  of  our  ability  to  compete  with  England  for  our 
share  of  the  cotton-goods  trade  of  the  world." 

The  report  of  the  Chief  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics 
of  Labor,  Mr.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  shows  that  all  the  testi- 
mony he  has  taken  and  published  in  Public  Document  No.  15 
establishes  that  our  mills  have  higher  speed  and  better  organization 
than  the  English  mills,  and  that  more  goods  are  turned  out  in  ten 
hours  than  formerly  in  eleven.  Says  one  spinner  :  "  Speed  is  an  ab- 
solute science  in  Fall  River,  and  what  the  superintendents  and 
overseers  do  not  know  about  it,  you  may  rest  assured  is  not  worth 
knowing."  Another  :  "  When  we  used  to  run  eleven  hours  we  got 
off  100  pounds  less  than  we  do  now  with  ten  hours."  And  still 
another  :  "  I  have  been  nine  years  in  Fall  River,  and  have  never 
worked  anywhere  else,  except  in  England,  where  we  worked  at 
high  speed,  but  not  to  the  extent  practised  here." 

The  silk  industry  has  found  its  development  in  this  country 


56 

later  than  any  of  the  above  mentioned.  Hear  what  the  Secretary 
of  the  Silk  Association  of  America  says  about  this  industry  : 

"  Our  manufacturers  have  been  obliged,  on  the  contrary,  to  con- 
centrate the  work,  so  as  to  keep  every  portion  of  it  under  direct 
supervision.  In  several  of  our  larger  silk-mills  all  the  different 
processes  referred  to  are  conducted  beneath  a  single  roof,  so  that 
the  raw  silk  becomes  finished  goods  under  the  eye  of  the  manu- 
facturer. In  some  instances  these  mills  have  within  their  walls 
rooms  provided  with  all  tools  and  machinery  for  their  own  repair- 
ing and  carpentering  work  ;  a  few  make  nearly  all  their  machines. 
There  is  a  marked  disposition  to  try  improvements  in  this  country, 
and  it  is  the  general  experience  that  the  very  best  machinery, 
though  at  first  far  more  costly,  is  in  the  end  decidedly  the  cheap- 
est. It  seems  evident,  however,  that  the  division  of  the  processes 
between  three  or  four  separate  establishments  [speaking  of  Euro- 
pean methods] — throwsters,  dyers,  weavers,  and  probably  finishers 
— must  imply  an  added  cost  in  a  profit  to  each.  The  American 
system  is  largely  a  consequence  of  substituting  machinery  for 
manual  labor.  The  work  of  the  power-loom  is  definite  and  posi- 
tive ;  it  is  not  liable  to  defects  such  as  happen  to  hand-made 
goods  if  the  weaver's  hand  is  unsteady  in  throwing  the  shuttle,  or 
if  he  is  careless  in  using  the  number  of  picks  required  by  the 
patterns." 

From  all  sides  we  hear  anxious  inquiries  about  the  stoppage  of 
demand  from  America,  where  one  line  after  another  of  foreign  silks 
is  supplanted  by  the  products  of  American  power-looms.  American 
silk  machinery  is  exported  to  districts  where  the  industry  has  had 
a  home  for  generations.  If  we  are  still  crowded  from  our  own 
markets  by  foreign,  excessively  taxed  silks,  it  is  not  so  much  on 
account  of  higher  labor  rates,  but  because  our  protected  industries 
neglect  to  follow  up  the  progress  of  foreign  industries  in  manipu- 
lation and  the  use  of  substitute  materials. 

China-grass  under  special  treatment  presents  characteristics 
scarcely  inferior  to  silk.  If  mixed  with  silk  the  best  judges  of 
silks  are  often  misled. 

The  consular  reports  to  the  State  Department  and  American 
trade  journals  *  have  called  attention  to  the  extensive  use  of  substi- 

'  The  New  York  Dry  Goods  Bulletin  has  very  systematically  followed  up  all 
the  recent  developments  of  the  new  industry. 


57 

tutes  m  silks  and  woollens  in  European  countries.  ITere  very  little 
progress  has  been  made  in  investigation  and  application.  It  is 
not  foreign  to  all  our  manufacturers,  however,  and  I  am  told  that 
those  using  it  are  doing  so  with  great  profit  to  themselves,  while 
others  complain  of  their  inability  to  compete  with  foreign  makes. 

It  is  evident  from  this  that  the  tariff,  that  great  providential 
power,  cannot  guarantee  success  and  protection  against  the  for- 
eigner if  our  manufacturers  do  not  use  their  brain  power  against 
him.  They  surely  have  always  a  great  stock  of  this  commodity  in 
store  when  it  is  to  be  used  to  hunt  down  their  own  countrymen 
and  competitors,  in  which  warfare  they  use  the  scalping-knife  in 
true  Modoc  fashion. 

Regarding  the  character  of  our  help  and  wages  as  affecting 
prices,  I  will  conclude  the  introduction  of  authorities  with  ex- 
tracts from  the  statement  of  Mr.  Joseph  D.  Weeks,  Expert  and 
Special  Agent  of  the  Census,  made  to  Mr.  Joseph  Nimmo,  Chief 
of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Washington,  D.  C,  May  22,  1SS2  : 

"  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that,  man  for  man,  naturally  the  Amer- 
ican workingman  in  the  iron  mills  is  better  than  the  Englishman. 
I  simply  mean  to  say  that  he  is  willing  to  work  more  and  harder, 
and  consequently  turns  out  a  great  deal  more  product.  For  ex- 
ample, a  case  in  question  has  just  come  to  my  notice.  The  iron- 
workers in  the  north  of  England  have  just  made  a  demand  for  7^ 
per  cent,  advance,  and  for  what  they  term  'prize  money,'  this 
prize  money  being  what  we  would  call  extra  for  over-time  and  holi- 
days, or  an  extra  price  paid  for  working  at  unusual  times,  at  night 
or  Sunday.  Now,  they  claim  that  Monday  should  be  regarded  as 
a  holiday,  and  refuse  to  work  Monday  unless  they  are  paid  an  ex- 
tra price  for  doing  so.  If  they  should  work  Monday  they  would 
probably  turn  out  as  much  as  any  other  day  ;  but  by  their  system 
of  working,  Monday  being  regarded  as  a  holiday  and  Saturday  as 
a  half-holiday,  they  lose  more  time  than  the  American  does  ;  con- 
sequently their  effectiveness  is  less.  It  does  not  affect  the  gen- 
eral statement,  however,  if  the  word  'effectiveness'  is  properly 
construed.  We  also  say  *  while  wages  per  ton  in  many  cases  are 
nearly  the  same,  the  earnings  per  diem  are  fully  twice  as  much,' 
with  the  same  consideration  that  this  does  not  mean  a  day  that 
an  American  would  work  as  hard  as  he  could,  but  per  day  for  a 


58 

number  of  consecutive  days,  say  for    six   months.     There   is  no 
trouble  about  that  statement  either." 

All  of  the  above  testimony  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  prove  that 
we  have  reached  maturity,  that  our  industries  have  passed  the 
stage  of  infancy,  and  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  may 
justly  demand  to  be  treated  by  their  law-makers  with  the  consid- 
eration which  is  due  to  full-grown  rational  men — beings  endowed 
with  reason. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CONTAINS    A    VERY     USEFUL      COMPARISON      BETWEEN      AMERICAN 
AND    EUROPEAN    METHODS    OF    PRODUCTION. 

Unnecessary  stress  is  usually  laid  upon  the  higher  or  lower  rate 
of  wages  ruling  in  this  or  in  that  country.  As  an  argument  in  tariff 
agitation,  it  is  of  no  value  whatsoever.  It  is  certain  that  wages  are 
not  gauged  by  protective  legislation,  but  by  demand  and  supply  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  the  general  opportunities  of  the  country,  which, 
in  their  turn,  determine  the  general  mode  of  living.  Wherever  these 
agencies  are  of  the  highest,  there  wages  are  highest.  Wherever 
they  are  highest,  there  production  is  the  highest  and  products  are 
cheapest.     Apparently  a  paradox,  but  it  is  true  nevertheless. 

High  wages  foster  invention,  and  that  country  has  ever  done 
most  in  this  realm  of  thought  whose  people  are  used  to  a  higher 
mode  of  living.  Buckle's  theory  of  the  principal  causes  that  influ- 
ence civilization,  viz.,  food,  soil,  climate,  and  the  general  aspect  of 
nature,  is  fully  corroborated  in  its  application  to  industrial  devel- 
opment. 

Food,  soil,  climate,  and  the  general  aspect  of  nature  are  more 
potent  in  determining  the  relative  conditions  of  nations  in  the 
v/orld's  contest  for  supremacy  than  all  the  enactments  of  pater- 
nal governments.  Nay,  more  ;  wherever  they  favor  a  nation  pre- 
eminently above  others  they  are  potent  enough  to  overcome  many 
of  the  injuries  which  the  stupidity  of  law-makers  has  heaped  upon 
a  people  for  generations.  No  country  possesses  all  these  natural 
advantages  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  United  States.  Unlimited 
in  their  food  supply,  the  people  of  the  United  States  owe  it  solely 
to  the  above-mentioned  quality  of  their  legislators  if  there  is  want 
in  the  midst  of  abundance;  but,  on  the  v.'hole,  no  better-fed  people 
exists  than  ours.  Scratch  the  soil  and  it  brings  forth  fruit,  unma- 
nured  and  with  far  less  labor  than  elsewhere.  Indeed  we  have  not 
arrived  even  at  the  beginning  of  a  rational  system  of  agriculture. 

59 


6o 

Climate  ?  The  very  air  throughout  the  widest  stretch  of  the  land 
invites  to  vigorous  activity.  The  veriest  clod  imported  from  the 
Old  World  takes  hold  of  his  hoe,  his  axe,  his  hammer,  or  his  chisel, 
in  a  way  entirely  new  to  him,  as  soon  as  the  strangeness  of  the  thing 
has  worn  ofif ;  and  I  doubt  whether  it  is  any  thing  else  than  the  nerve 
that  is  imparted  by  the  climate  that  makes  such  good  Americans  of 
such  raw  material  in  so  short  a  time.  The  general  aspect  of  nat- 
ure is  certainly  all  that  can  be  required.  And  with  all  these  nat- 
ural advantages  so  liberally  supplied  to  us,  can  it  be  that  we  require 
protection  ?  Protection  against  those  who  are  weaker  than  we  ? 
The  young,  the  healthy,  the  strong,  against  the  old,  the  sick,  the 
weak,  soldier-ridden,  and  oppressed  peoples  of  Europe  ?  The  very 
thought  is  an  absurdity. 

The  application  of  labor-saving  machinery  driven  by  steam  and 
other  elementary  power,  has  wrought  a  revolution  in  economics, 
which  fact  has  not  yet  been  sufificiently  recognized  by  our  law- 
makers. Where  labor  is  degraded  to  the  lowest  possible  level,  the 
introduction  of  these  agencies  is  hardly  ever  thought  of.  Thelow- 
ness  of  wages  makes  it  possible  to  dispense  with  the  putting  up  of 
high-cost  plant,  buildings,  and  machinery,  and  the  consequent  in- 
terest charges  and  expenses.  Contrariwise,  labor  can  never  be  so 
poorly  paid  where  a  large  number  of  workmen  are  collected  under 
one  roof  or  in  one  town.  They  can  combine,  and  do  combine  to  re- 
sist reduction  in  wages.  Manufacturers,  possessors  of  large  fixed 
capital,  if  they  can  see  ever  so  slight  a  profit  in  running  their  mill, 
will  hesitate  to  run  the  risk  of  a  strike.  This  is  not  so  with  those 
industries  where  the  work  is  divided  all  over  the  towns  and  the 
country  districts  among  a  great  number  of  small  masters  and  work- 
people. The  so-called  house-industries  of  Germany  and  other 
countries,  despite  incredibly  low  wages,  find  themselves  frequently 
crowded  from  their  markets  by  American  competition,  and  by  the 
fruit  of  high-cost  organization.  To  illustrate  :  The  manufacture 
of  slates  has  been  an  old-established  industry  in  Thuringia,  and  is 
one  of  the  hardest,  unhealthiest,  and  most  poorly  paid  occupations. 
The  family  composes  the  workshop.  Women — wife  and  daugh- 
ters— carry  the  stone  from  the  quarry  to  the  shop  in  loads  of  from 
ICG  to  125  pounds.  In  winter,  while  so  burdened,  the  steam  rises 
from  them  visibly  ;  panting  as  they  do  for  breath,  you  hear  them 


6i 

at  a  distance.  To  take  a  short  rest  from  their  exertion,  they  sit 
down  in  the  snow,  and  most  of  them  are  troubled  with  lung 
diseases,  and  die  an  early  death.  The  men  are  equally  hard  at 
work,  equally  exposed  in  cold,  draughty  huts.  Besides,  they  inhale 
the  dust  and  leady  coloring  matter  ;  and  Avith  all  this  slaving  the 
C077ibined tiioxi^  and  toiling  do  not  realize  more  than  a  few  marks, 
or  fifty  cents  a  day.  They  use  the  old  methods  and  tools  of  a 
hundred  years  ago.  Now  they  complain  of  harder  times  yet  ; 
America,  formerly  a  very  great  market  for  their  hand-made  slates, 
has  not  only  ceased  to  buy,  but  with  her  machine-made  slates, 
superior  in  make  and  finish  and  beauty,  is  beginning  to  compete 
seriously  with  them  in  their  home  market,  Germany. 

There  are  villages  in  the  Taunus,  within  an  hour's  walk  from 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  a  city  noted  for  having  more  millionnaires 
within  its  walls  than  any  other  city  of  the  world,  considering  its  size, 
where  nail-making  is  one  of  the  long-developed  home  industries. 
A  strong  nail-maker  can  earn  about  1.25  mark,  or  30  cents,  by  a  day's 
work  of  twelve  hours.  Wire-making  yields  to  an  equally  industrious 
worker  T.35  to  1.65  mark  (32I  to  40  cents).  Of  course  women 
and  children  are  equally  pressed  to  work — children  only  part  of 
their  time.  Filet  work,  knitting  or  embroidering  work,  yields  to 
an  expert  hand  about  50  to  55  pfennige,  or  12  to  14  cents.  Chil- 
dren of  the  tenderest  age  are  kept  steadily  at  work,  from  early 
dawn  and  often  till  midnight,  with  only  such  intermissions  as 
school-time  and  the  satisfaction  of  bodily  wants  compel.  Some, 
if  ever  so  steady  at  their  filet-needles,  do  not  earn  more  than  25 
pfennige,  or  6  cents,  as  a  long  day's  wages.  The  family  may  be 
called  happy  whose  average  daily  income  during  the  year  does 
not  fall  below  2  marks,  or  fifty  cents,  a  day.  Working  hours  are 
from  5  A.M.  to  7  P.M.,  winter  and  summer  alike.  The  nail-maker 
carries  his  own  goods  to  market,  the  same  as  his  ancestors  did 
hundreds  of  years  ago. 

I  have  before  me  a  statement  of  the  earnings  of  a  large  family, 
composed  of  father,  mother,  two  sons, — the  father's  helpers  in 
nail-making, — and  three  daughters, — filet  work  and  knitting — 
six  workers  (not  counting  the  mother),  earning  all  told  about  1,400 
marks,  or  ^350.  Deducting  Sundays,  which,  however,  does  not  re- 
lieve the  girls  entirely,  and  counting  only  300  work  days,  brings 


62 


The  father's' earnings  at  40  cents 
"     2  sons'         "         "  25      "      each 
"     3  daughters'  "      "  10      " 


$120 

150 
90 

S360 


From  the  reports  of  the  factory  inspectors  it  appears  that  the 
handloom  weavers'  earnings  are  even  below  those  of  the  Taunus 
nail-makers.  The  yearly  income  of  a  weaver  in  the  Silesian 
mountain  districts  is  not  above  three  hundred  marks,  or  ^75.  A 
patch  of  land  to  grow  potatoes  is  all  he  has  to  help  him  in  bridg- 
ing over  the  abyss  of  misery  that  lies  hidden  beneath  such  scanty 
earnings,  and  a  year  of  misgrowth  often  means  starvation  and 
death  to  him  and  his  family. 

Compared  to  such  low  earnings,  those  of  the  nail-makers  of  the 
Black  Country  of  England  may  be  called  liberal  pay.  Yet  they  are 
low  enough  compared  to  the  wages  of  factory  hands.  I  take  my 
figures  from  a  recent  letter  written  in  the  protectionist  interest  to 
the  Ne7iJ  York  Tribuju.     It  says  : 

"An  expert  nailer,  working  steadily  from  Monday  morning  to 
Friday  night  [5  days,  against  the  6  overworked  days  of  the  Ger- 
man nail-maker],  can  only  make  two  and  a  half  bundles  of  iron 
rods  into  nails,  for  which  he  gets  6s.  7|-d.  per  bundle,  or,  for  his 
week's  work,  i6s.  8d.,  exactly  four  dollars.  Now  his  wife, 
by  working  every  moment  of  her  spare  time  and  late  into  the 
night — neglecting  her  wretched  little  children — can  make  a  bundle 
of  commoner  nails,  for  which  she  is  paid  3s.  id.,  and  the  little  half- 
starved,  stunted  girl  of  twelve,  with  her  brown  arms  and  steady, 
unerring  aim,  will  hammer  out  half  a  bundle,  is.  6-ki.  Total 
earnings  of  an  industrious  and  hard-working  family,  three  at  the 
forge,  for  the  entire  week  : 


English 
Money. 

United 

States 

Money. 

Father 

Mother                 ........ 

Daughter             

l6s.  8d. 
3s.  id. 
IS.  7id. 

$4  00 
74 
39 

Total  gross  earnings  of  the  family  per  week 

21S.  4^d. 

$5  13 

^3 

"But  out  of  this  pittance  must  come  3d.  for  carriage  of  iron 
from  the  '  fogger's  '  and  returning  tlie  nails,  is.  for  the  smithy 
fire,  and  3d.  for  the  wear  of  tools.  Net  earning,  $4.77  per  week 
— the  united  earnings  of  three  industrious,  sober  persons." 

The  results  of  the  different  methods  are  significant.  In  the 
Taunus,  near  Frankfort,  the  raw  material  in  a  thousand  horseshoe 
nails — 

No.  8  costs  35  cents  ;  wages,  32J  ;  percentage  of  wages  to  material,  qj 
"     6     "      26      "  "         26  ;         "  "  "         "        100 

or  an  average  of  96^  % 

Nail-making  in  the  United  States  consumes  in  raw  material, 
exclusive  of  fuel,  ^2,800,000.  The  wages  of  the  2,900  per- 
sons employed  amounts  to  $1,255,000,  or  $410  for  each  hand  ; 
or,  at  300  days,  i  36^  cents  a  day.  Thus,  in  the  American 
method,  labor  constitutes  only  31^3  per  cent,  of  nail-making,  ex- 
clusive of  profits,  and  yields  i  367-3  cents  to  the  workman,  while 
tlie  house  industry  requires  50  per  cent,  of  the  product  (also  ex- 
cluding profits)  for  a  day's  wages  of  barely  30  cents.  The  result 
is  : — 

American  method,  nails,  100;  material,  6S|;  labor,  31 1;  wages,  $1  36 J-. 
German  "  "      100;  "  51;         "       49;  "  30. 

Though  the  earnings  of  an  American  are  4^  times  higher  tlian 
those  of  his  German  fellow-workman,  yet  his  wages  compose  only 
31/^  per  cent,  of  the  product,  while  under  the  German  method 
they  are  49  per  cent,  of  the  product.  In  other  words,  the  labor- 
cost  in  American-made  goods  is  about  35  per  cent,  less,  while  the 
earnings  of  the  laborer  are  350  per  cent,  more,  than  under  the  old 
methods. 

In  English  manufactures — like  the  hosiery,  knit-goods,  some 
woollen  and  silk  industries — we  find  the  same  rule  prevailing, 
lower  wages  and  earnings  wherever  the  hand-loom  and  knitting- 
frame  give  employment  to  small  masters  in  their  own  houses  and 
homes.  But  such  a  system  of  work  hardly  exists  in  America,  and 
where  it  does  exist,  it  is  being  rapidly  extinguished  by  the  power- 
mill — which,  in  turn,  not  only  offers  serious  competition  to  Ger- 


64 

many  and  England,  but  is  duly  recognized  by  them  as  their  great 
impending  danger. 

Now,  I  do  not  wish  the  reader  to  suppose  that  these  low  earn- 
ings of  those  engaged  in  house-industries  are  of  recent  date.  The 
English  and  German  statements,  even  previous  to  1845,  paint 
blacker  yet.  It  is  not  my  task  at  present  to  write  a  history  of 
white  slavery  in  the  present  century,  but  simply  to  point  out  the 
utter  invalidity  of  such  irrelevant  comparisons  as  our  protection- 
ist agitators  are  in  the  habit  of  exhibiting, — comparisons  of 
things  that  are  as  dissimilar  as  the  moon  and  a  green  cheese. 

But  even  where  the  product  of  our  power-machinery  meets  their 
power-mill  product  the  same  holds  good. 

It  costs  less  in  New  England  and  Pennsylvania  to  spin  and 
weave  a  pound  of  cotton  into  cloth  than  in  Old  England,  though 
the  weekly  earnings  of  our  people  are  higher.  This  statement  is 
best  supported  by  a  reference  to  the  annual  consumption  of 
pounds  of  cotton  by  each  hand  employed  in  the  industry  in  the 
leading  countries  : 


United  Slates 
Great  Britain 
Germany 


Pounds  cot- 
ton used. 


750,343,000 

1,471,357.000 

300,000,000 


Number 
hands  em- 
ployed. 


172.544 
482,903 
250,000 


Pounds 
consumed 
per  hand 
employed. 


4.337 
3,253 
1,200 


(The  same  relationship  exists  in  other  branches,  and  in  the  ap- 
plication of  steam-  and  other  power-engines.)' 

This  advantage  on  our  side  is  more  than  lost  by  the  taxes  and  in- 
terest charges  on  the  high  cost  of  the  plant  and  mill,  the  high 
cost  of  coal  and  other  materials,  all  heavily  taxed,  which,  all  com- 
bined, outweigh  by  nearly  two  cents  on  the  pound  the  saving  in 
the  cost  of  labor  before  alluded  to.  English  hands,  on  the  other 
side,  in  fifty-six  hours,  earn  on  the  average  about  one-fourth  more 
than  French  mill-hands  in  seventy-two  hours.  Yet  the  cost  of  the 
manufacture  of  a  kilogram  of  cotton  yarn  is  9.6  cents  in  England 
against  15.6  in  France.     The  items  are  as  follow  : 

■For  1S75  the  steam-engines  used  in  the  various  industries  of  England  are 
given  at  936,405  horse  power.  For  1880  the  steam-engines  used  in  the  various 
industries  of  the  United  States  are  given  at  2,185,458. 


65 


France. 

England. 

Labor     ......... 

Expenses        ........ 

Interest,  etc 

0.054 
0.056 
0.046 

0.156 

0.043 
0.022 
0.031 

0.096 

Italy  stands  worse  yet  in  the  scale.  I  could  bring  forward  simi- 
lar statistical  proof  against  the  other  nations  1  have  spoken  of,  but 
it  would  be  only  a  repetition  of  items.  But  why  go  across  the 
ocean  ?  We  find  the  same  conditions  and  results  in  our  own 
country. 

I  have  made  a  classification  of  the  yearly  earnings  of  our  cot- 
ton and  woollen  operatives  in  the  different  sections  of  the  coun- 
try.    In  woollens  they  are  as  follows  : 


Connecticut 

.  $335 

New  York .          , 

Maine 

.     320 

New  Hampshire 

Massachusetts     . 

.     320 

Vermont     . 

Pennsylvania 

.     300 

Indiana 

New  Jersey 

.     300 

Ohio  . 

In  cotton  industries  they  are  as  follows  : 


Maine        .         .  ) 

New  York . 

New  Hampshire  V 

.  $255 

South  Carolina 

New  Jersey        .  ) 

Maryland  , 

Massachu.setts     . 

.     251 

Georgia 

Rhode  Island 

.     250 

Tennessee . 

Pennsylvania 

.     250 

Alabama    . 

Ohio  . 

.     250 

Virginia 

Connecticut 

.     242 

North  Carolina 

2S0 
270 
230 
196 


$218 
190 
iS3 
180 
160 
160 
150 
135 


If  cheap,  or  rather  low-priced,  labor  determines  superiority  in 
productive  capacity,  why  does  not  the  South  drive  the  New  Eng- 
land and  Middle  States  from  the  field  and  flood  us  with  cheap 
fabrics  ?  Why  does  not  the  West,  New  York,  or  New  Jersey  super- 
sede Connecticut,  Maine,  and  Massachusetts  in  woollens  ?  But 
take  our  own  city,  with  its  varied  manufacturing  enterprises,  most 
of  which  have  little  if  any  protection  against  Europe,  and  none 
against  our  inland  competing  cities.  Most  of  the  materials  that 
enter  into  New  York's  industries  are  so  highly  protected,  that  this 
tax  in  many  cases  outweighs  even  the  very  high  tax  on  the  finished 


66 

goods.  Still  New  York  manufactures  more  goods  than  the  New 
England  States,  if  we  except  Massachusetts.  Our  manufactures 
are  ^470,000,000,  or  nearly  ten  per  cent,  of  all  the  manufacturing 
industries  of  the  whole  country.  Most  of  them  are  goods  of  the 
highest  finish,  in  which  New  York  is  the  leading  centre.  New  York 
pays  the  highest  wages.  In  comparison  with  Philadelphia  wages,  I 
find  in  nearly  fifty  items  differences  ranging  from  twenty-five  to 
fifty  per  cent,  in  the  yearly  earnings  of  New  York's  working  classes 
above  those  of  Philadelphia,  And  still  Ne-.v  York  manages  to  get 
along,  and  exceeds  Philadelphia's  annual  production  of  ^324,000,- 
000  by  $150,000,000,  or  nearly  50  per  cent. 

The  highest  wage-earners  make  the  best  goods  ;  and  while  these 
always  find  a  ready  market,  the  cheap  stuff  of  so  many  of  our 
mills  is,  as  at  present,  a  drug  in  the  market,  breeding  ruin  all 
around. 

I  believe  after  the  testimony  introduced,  that  I  need  not  fear 
contradiction  when  I  state  that  our  mode  of  manufacture  is  not  only 
fully  equal,  but  in  most  instances  superior,  to  that  of  the  most 
advanced  commercial  nations  of  the  globe.  I  can  therefore  ad- 
vance a  few  closing  remarks  in  reference  to  that  great  protection- 
ist argument  :  American  labor  must  be  protected  against  the  starva- 
tion wages  of  Europe.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  all  our  protected 
industries  are  making  the  most  extensive  use  of  free  trade  in  labor, 
this  point  seems  rather  frivolous.  Yet  greatest  stress  is  laid  by 
our  orators  upon  this  very  point.  Not  only  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
but  on  all  other  state  occasions  ;  at  all  political  performances, 
wherever  and  whenever  the  Honorable  the  member  from  Bun- 
combe finds  a  fit  opportunity,  there  and  then  great  show  is  made 
of  his  solicitude  for  the  protection  of  American  labor.  The  Com- 
missioner of  Labor  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  some  years  ago 
commented  on  the  displacement  of  one  class  of  labor  in  factories 
by  another.  This  process  has  continued  to  this  day,  the  cheaper 
always  replacing  the  dearer  labor  ;  the  American,  the  English,  the 
German,  the  Irish,  the  French  Canadian,  and  finally  the  Scandi- 
navian, all  in  turn  making  sacrifice  to  the  corporation.  In  other 
words,  competition  for  the  cheapest  mode  of  production  is  so 
keen  that  manufacturers  are  always  endeavoring  to  replace  labor 
that  has  become  accustomed  to  American  life  and  mode  of  living 


67 

by  labor  that  has  been  trained  to  a  cheaper  standard.  All  nation- 
alities and  races,  however,  share  alike  in  the  endeavor  to  improve 
their  condition,  to  strive  for  the  highest  Avages  ruling  in  the 
country,  and  to  maintain  the  standard  of  living  once  gained.  So 
uncontrovertible  a  truth  is  this,  that  hardly  any  thing  need  be 
said  in  its  support.  Yet  so  brilliant  an  illustration  has  come 
to  my  notice  that  I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  it.  A  Chinese 
shoe  manufacturing  firm  in  San  Francisco,  employing  Chinese 
laborers,  gave  their  workmen  their  daily  meals  at  the  factory,  for 
which  they  were  charged  50  cents  a  day.  After  a  time  the  men 
demanded  that  their  meals  be  furnished  gratis  whenever  work 
should  be  slack  and  they  earn  no  wages.  This  the  firm  refused  to 
their  countrymen  and  the  Chinese  struck  work.  White  men,  new 
arrivals,  were  put  in  their  places,  ready  to  work  for  wages  which 
the  despised  Mongolians  had  refused  to  accept.  I  merely  bring 
this  in  as  evidence  that  wages  are  not  gauged  in  this  country  on 
sentimental  principles,  as  our  protectionists  would  have  us  believe, 
but  that,  protected  or  not  protected,  our  manufacturers  try  to  ob- 
tain the  cheapest  labor  wherever  they  can  get  it,  which  endeavor 
the  workingman  will  resist  as  long  as  possible,  and  if  unsuccessful 
he  will  always  strive  to  regain  his  former  standard  of  living  when- 
ever opportunity  favors  him.  The  high-wages  standard  can  be 
maintained  without  detriment  to  manufactures,  as  is  shown  above, 
and  besides  is  of  a  great  advantage  in  another  direction. 

The  laborer  is  the  great  consumer  of  commodities  ;  consequently 
well-paid  labor  sustains  business  prosperity.  If  the  workingman 
does  not  earn  fair  wages,  every  thing  comes  to  a  standstill.  Hence 
the  cutting-down  process  eventually  recoils  on  those  who  are  the 
innocent  or  guilty  cause  of  it.  Nor  even  does  the  high-wage 
country  suffer  from  the  low  wages  of  competing  countries.  The 
poor,  wretched  linen-weavers  of  Silesia — a  class  of  whom  it  can 
hardly  be  said  that  any  one  of  them  has  ever  had  a  full  square 
meal  of  butcher's  meat,  and  among  whom  hunger-typhus  (typhus 
caused  by  starvation)  is  a  calamity  of  frequent  recurrence — earn 
about  half  of  the  not  over-paid  weavers  of  Belfast.  Yet  the  mar- 
kets of  unprotected  England  are  only  flooded  to  the  extent  of 
;!^2o,ooo  of  German  linen  a  year.  One  of  our  best  authorities  in 
political  economy,  Mr.   Edward  Atkinson,  stated  the  case  very 


68 

forcibly  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Nimmo,  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
Statistics  at  Washington.  I  cannot  do  better  than  close  this 
chapter  by  quoting  his  remarks  bearing  on  this  point : 

*'  Further,  the  use  of  machinery,  and  the  cost  of  the  production 
of  such  machinery,  depend  upon  the  intelligence,  manual  skill, 
and  physical  ability  of  the  operative  who  directs  it.  Most  of  the 
work  being  done  by  the  piece,  the  operative  who  earns  the  highest 
wages  working  on  piece-work  produces  cloth  at  the  lowest  cost. 

"  When  all  these  elements  are  taken  into  consideration,  I  think 
it  follows  that  any  one  who  attempts  to  gauge  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion by  comparison  of  wages  will  most  likely  be  misled  ;  and  if  it 
is  assumed  that  the  lowest  cost  of  production  will  be  found  where 
the  wages  are  lowest,  he  will  be  sure  to  be  misled,  as  that  rule 
would  lead  to  the  expectation  of  finding  the  lowest  cost  of  cotton 
fabrics  in  the  factories  of  India  ;  next  in  the  factories  of  Ger- 
many ;  next,  perhaps,  of  France  ;  and  last,  perhaps,  of  England  ; 
the  upward  sequence  of  wages  being  substantially  according  to 
the  order  named. 

"We  have  about  175,000  persons  in  our  cotton  factories,  of 
whom  about  160,000  v/orkfor  the  home  market.  By  comparing  the 
product  of  the  hand-carders,  spinners,  and  weavers  who  were  at 
Atlanta,  I  gauged  their  capacity,  and  I  found  that  if  we  still  de- 
pended on  that  method,  about  16,000,000  of  our  population  would 
be  needed  to  make  our  present  supply  in  place  of  160,000  now  at 
work. 

"  The  capacity  of  an  operative  directing  our  modern  automatic 
machinery  being  one  hundred-fold  that  of  an  operative  working 
the  hand-card,  wheel,  and  hand-loom  ;  assuming  that  our  adult 
faculty  operatives  earn  about  one  dollar  a  day  each,  it  follows  that 
the  successful  competitor  on  hand-worked  machinery  would  need 
to  work  at  one  cent  a  day  in  order  to  compete. 

"  Apply  this  rule  to  the  Chinese,  the  largest  body  of  people 
using  cotton  in  the  world,  and  mostly  clothed  by  hand-made 
goods.  It  will  be  apparent  that  it  would  be  fallacious  to  compute 
or  to  infer  a  low  cost  of  manufacture  because  Chinese  wages  are 
low.  If  we  then  take  the  two  extremes  of  the  operatives  working 
by  hand  on  machinery  in  China,  and  the  operative  directing  mod- 
ern machinery  in  Lowell,  we  find  that  in  Lowell,  where  the  high 
relative  wages  are  paid,  the  low  relative  cost  is  to  be  found. 


69 

"  Hence  follows  this  rule  :  Other  things  being  equal,  high  wages 
coupled  with  loiv  cost  a>-e  the  necessary  result  of  the  most  intelligent 
application  of  machinery  to  the  arts,  provided  the  education  of  the 
operative  keeps  pace  zvith  the  improvement  of  the  machinery. 

"  This  fundamental  principle  must  be  comprehended  in  order 
that  any  valuable  deductions  may  be  made  from  wages  ;  and  before 
the  true  cost  of  any  fabric  can  be  determined,  the  other  things 
which  are  not  equal  must  De  ascertained." 


CHAPTER   XI, 

IN    WHICH    THE    WORKINGMAN    IS    REMINDED    THAT    NOT    ALL    IS 
GOLD    THAT    GLITTERS. 

We  need  not  fear  foreign  competition,  even  if  our  labor  be 
better  paid  than  labor  is  paid  in  Europe,  were  we  to  go  to  work 
at  once  and  reform  the  tariff,  first,  by  freeing  raw  materials,  and 
secondly,  by  reducing  correspondingly  all  duties  on  manufactured 
goods.  In  order,  however,  to  convince  all  sincere  friends  of  the 
workingman  that  the  latter  is  not  protected  by  the  tariff,  I  will 
show  what  his  earnings  are  in  reality,  what  they  are  in  excess  of 
his  former  earnings  under  a  low  tariff,  and,  finally,  how  far  he  is 
ahead  of  the  best-paid  European  labor — the  English — his  principal 
rival.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  what  amount  of  duty  would  have  to 
be  levied  to  protect  his  interests,  and  that  these  could  be  well 
taken  care  of  under  a  revenue  tariff. 

A  most  essential  feature  in  the  estimate  of  wages  is  the  cost  of 
living.  To  compute  wages  by  the  dollar  sign  is  as  erroneous  and 
as  difficult  as  to  calculate  the  Copernican  from  the  Ptolemaic 
system  ;  a  changeable  value  to  pay  for  a  fixed  value.  A  change- 
able value — buying  more  in  one  country  than  in  another — 
changeable  as  to  time  in  the  same  country — is  not  a  true  measure 
for  a  fixed  value,  that  of  the  working  day  or  of  the  cost  of  living 
of  the  laborer.  This  change  in  the  value  of  the  dollar  (or  any 
other  money)  causes  the  perturbations  of  which  our  present  strikes 
are  the  logical  outgrowth.  The  value  of  our  own  dollar  during 
the  various  periods  of  protection,  taking  as  a  basis  i860  and  pro- 
ceeding to  our  present  time,  has  been  compiled  by  Mr.  Carroll  D. 
Wright : 

70 


71 


WHAT    ONE    DOLLAR    COULD    BUY    IN 


i860. 

1872. 

1878. 

i83i. 

Flour,  supcifi;ij    . 

lbs. 

25-64 

18. iS 

22.72 

19.76 

Codfish          .... 

" 

T8.87 

12.20 

16.67 

13-33 

Beans  ..... 

" 

12.66 

10.52 

12.05 

7-54 

Coffee  ..... 

" 

4-36 

2-35 

3-77 

3-47 

Sugar  ..... 

" 

9.70 

8.33 

10.00 

9-og 

Soap    ..... 

" 

11.49 

12.50 

12.34 

14.81 

Beef,  roasting 

" 

9.1S 

5.26 

694 

5.83 

"     soup    .... 

" 

20.83 

13-33 

1S.S6 

18.18 

"     corned 

" 

15-33 

9  52 

12  34 

9-75 

Veal,  hindquarters 

" 

9.18 

5.S5 

6-53 

6.34 

Mutton,  forequarters     . 

" 

13-51 

g.So 

9  70 

8. 82 

Hams  ..... 

" 

7-75 

7.41 

8.07 

6.55 

Potatoes        .          .          .          .       b 

ushels 

1.67 

0.97 

1.03 

0.79 

Milk 

quarts 

21.27 

12.50 

18. 86 

16.66 

Coal 

.    lbs. 

312.00 

217.00 

310.00 

255-00 

Shirting,  ^-4 

yards 

10.S7 

7.69 

13-33 

11.42 

Sheeliiii;       .... 

" 

9-34 

7.14 

II. II 

930 

Rent,  four-room  tenement    . 

days 

6-75 

2.03 

5-40 

3-75 

Board,  men  .... 

" 

2.51 

1.24 

1.67 

1-47 

"      women 

392 

I.S7 

2.63 

2-33 

The  money  value  is  changed  here  all  through  the  list,  and  the 
dollar  does  not  buy  the  same  amount  of  goods,  board,  or  rent  at 
any  two  of  the  periods. 

Cotton  goods  are  about  the  only  things  not  changed.  All  otiier 
commodities, but  soap,  rose  in  price  between  i860  and  1881.  Rent 
and  board  about  40  per  cent.;  potatoes  over  50  per  cent.;  other 
victuals  from  20  to  40  per  centum.  The  average  of  prices  is 
fully  one  third  above  the  one  of  the  low-tariff  period  previous 
to  the  war. 

Now  poor  business  presses  down  prices,  and  wages  are  reduced. 
Good  times  raise  prices,  but  wages  are  seldom  raised  with  the  rise 
of  the  price  of  commodities.  In  most  cases  their  rise  has  to  be 
forced  :  consequently  less  consumption  ensues  and  strikes  follow 
in  order  to  regain  the  former  standard  of  living,  i860  is  a  year  of 
a  low  tariff ;  in  186 1,  prices  are  beginning  to  rise  greatly  in  conse- 
quence of  tariff  charges.    Sec  the  result  in  consumption  per  capita  ; 


72 


Tea. 

Coffee. 

Sugar 

Cereals. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds 

Bushels. 

jS5o 

0.84 

5.8 

29.6 

38.68 

i86r 

0.52 

4 

3 

22.2 

1862 

0.71 

3 

4 

29- 5 

26.42 

i86t 

0.80 

2 

2 

18.9 

21.21 

JS64' 

1.04 

.3 

7 

19.4 

25-34 

1S65 

0.48 

8 

16.8 

31-43 

1S66 

1. 16 

4 

7 

27.6 

3h.67 

Tlie  slightest  change  in  the  value  of  money  falls  most  severely 
on  the  poorer  classes.  A  rise  in  prices  pinches  them  to  that  ex- 
tent that  they  at  once  are  compelled  to  reduce  their  daily  rations 
in  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  and  bread.  These  few  figures  tell  more  than 
volumes  of  argument  against  the  fallacy  of  the  attempt  to  raise 
the  workingman's  condition  by  raising  prices  through  tariff  legis- 
lation.   By  the  use  of  such  arguments  cruel  deception  is  practised. 

In  justice  I  will  say  that  in  regard  to  wage  matters,  "  infants  "  do 
not  differ  very  materially  from  "  adults."  Both  as  a  rule  resist  a 
rise  in  wages  so  long  as  compatible  with  their  interests.  "  Infant" 
industries,  however,  are  more  tenacious,  as  a  rule,  in  resisting  just 
demands  for  a  rise  in  wages.  The  only  really  protected  industries 
are  those  of  raw  materials  and  crude  manufactures.  The  finer- 
finish  and  skill-requiring  industries  are  unprotected,  as  the  taxed 
material,  as  a  rule,  is  so  high,  that  all  protection-device  disappears 
before  the  great  cost  of  materials;  consequently,  by  a  queer 
misnomer  invented  by  the  sophists  of  protection,  the  crude  manu- 
factures more  than  a  hundred  years  old — industries  as  old  as  the 
settlement  of  any  country,  ore-digging,  metal-smelting,  wool-shear- 
ing,^ and  kindred  skilful  manipulations — are  the  infants  of  the 

^  1S64  shows  heavy  importations  on  account  of  new  duties  laid  on  tea,  which, 
however,  are  balanced  by  the  lighter  imports  of  1S65.  The  two  years  have  to  be 
averaged  on  this  account  to  give  a  correct  estimate  of  per  capita  consumption. 

^  As  to  the  kind  of  labor  employed  in  sheep-raising  an  expert  correspondent 
to  one  of  our  daily  papers,  gives  the  following  graphic  description  from  one  of 
the  far  Western  sheep-ranges  :  The  business  of  herding  sheep  is  the  most 
monotonous  known.  I  can  imagine  no  more  mind-destroying  occupation.  It 
is  fit  only  for  greasers,  men  who  are  below  their  dogs  in  intelligence.  It  is 
seldom  an  American  engages  in  sheep  herding.  When  hard  up  and  unable  to 
obtain  other  work  they  wisely  prefer  the  penitentiary  and  its  mild  excitement  to 
prowling  over  a  desert  after  a  flock  of  stupid  sheep,  and  they  are  right.  I  have 
seen  sheep  herders  in  Southern  Colorado  sit  for  hours  on  a  rock  or  under  a  sage 


73 

nation,  while  all  the  newer  and  naore  developed  industries  remain 
unnoticed.  The  gray-headed  infants  will  remain  infants  and 
plead  for  all  the  assistance  requisite  to  tender  years  so  long  as 
the  nation  remains  simple-minded  enough  to  be  mystified  by  such 
shallow  pretence  and  mimicry. 

A  repression  in  the  standard  of  living  through  a  rise  m  prices  of 
commodities,  caused  by  tariff  legislation,  inflation  of  currency  or 
similar  causes,  is  more  lasting  and  more  dangerous  than  one  caused 
by  reduction  through  the  process  of  cutting  down  in  wages.  The 
latter  is  a  known,  visible  quantity,  often  resisted  to  the  bitter  end. 
If  they  have  to  yield,  the  workmen  usually  regain  their  lost  ground 
at  the  first  return  of  a  demand  for  labor.  The  former,  however,  is 
a  subtle  poison,  eating  into  every  morsel  of  food  and  every  shred 
of  clothing,  narrowing  the  rooms  in  which  they  live  and  thus 
poisoning  the  air  which  they  breathe.  They  do  not  observe  this 
slowly  creeping  process  of  decomposition.  The  money  value  of 
their  wages  is  the  same,  even  somewhat  higher  than  before — but 
alas  ! — how  are  they,  in  their  untutored  minds,  to  explain  to 
themselves  the  cause  of  the  insufficiency,  the  decline,  of  their 
purchasing  power.  Years  of  suffering  and  strife  only  bring  back 
the  former  standard.  This  can  be  seen  from  a  glance  at  prices 
and  wages  of  pig-iron  from  1863  to  1865,  when  manufacturers' 
profits  were  enormously  high  and  wages  could  hardly  buy  bread 
enough  to  fill  the  hungry  stomachs. 

The  bureau  of  statistics  is  authority  for  the  following  figures  : 


YEAR. 

Cost  of 
Pig-iron. 

Sales 
Price. 

Cost  ot 

Labor 

Per  Ton. 

1863  ..... 

1864  . 

1865  ..... 

$1653 
20  q7 
32  21 

$33  00 
45  00 
60  00 

$207 
285 
4  56 

Will  any  one  be  surprised  that  the  consumption  of  the  most  in- 
dispensable necessities  of  life  had  within  these  years  to  undergo 
so  marked  a  decrease  as  shown  above  ? 

brush  looking  at  a  flock  of  sheep,  or  slowly  walking  to  and  fro  in  the  dust  rising 
behind  the  animals  as  they  fed  over  the  prairie.  These  men  led  a  life  of  such 
irritating  monotony  that  a  nervous  American,  forced  to  do  the  work,  would  have 
swallowed  one  of  the  banana-like  cactuses  growing  on  the  plains,  in  his  mad 
desire  to  break  the  direful  monotony. 


74 

The  rapid  rise  in  the  price  of  commodities  and  the  very  slow 
and  inadequate  rise  in  wages  are  sufficient  explanation. 

Consequently,  any  legislation  tending  to  raise  prices  above  their 
normal  standard  is  oppression  practised  on  the  people,  of  whom 
more  than  nine  tenths  are  either  workingmen,  small  farmers,  or 
people  of  small  incomes. 

The  tax  on  raw  materials  in  wool,  iron,  coal,  dye-stuffs,  etc., 
especially  increases  the  prices  of  manufactures  disproportion- 
ately, consequently  makes  the  workingman's  dollar  less  valuable. 
This  may  be  seen  from  the  following  table.  Take  a  pound  of 
scoured  wool,  for  instance,  and  follow  it  up  until  it  goes  into  the 
possession  of  the  workingman. 

UNDER  FREE  RAW  MATERIAL. 


•0 

■^   • 

^■Ji 

>, 

0  0 

-5   C3 

■c  a 

Different   Processes. 

■a 

^^ 

*j 

>. 

u 

0 

'E-S 

a 

a  0 

«3 

■J 

■a 

o 

d 

j= 

si 

tH 

O 

P 

J 

0 

U 

t-i  0 

Ph 

Ch 

a  Scoured  wool 

$o  50 

$0        50 

b  Wool-dealers'  profit 

50 

$0  05 

55 

c  Cloth  price  and  duties 

55 

$0  25 

$0  25 

25 

I  30 

d  Selling  expenses  and  charges 

I  30 

12 

I  42 

^Clothing  manufacturer 

I  42 

. 

2S 

I  70 

/Clothing  dealer    . 

I  70 

•       • 

•     • 

4- 

2  12 

UNDER  OUR  NEW  TARIFF  ON  RAW  MATERIALS. 


a  Scoured  wool 

l>  Wool-dealers'  profits 

c  Cloth  price  and  duties 

</ Selling  expenses  and  charges- 

e  Clothing  manufacturer 

y  Clothing  dealer     , 


$0  50 

80 
90 

2    00 
2    20 
2    65 

30 

25 

25 

10 

"   10 

10 
40 
20 

45 
65 

90 

2    00 
2    20 

2  65 

3  30 


I  have  allowed  under  both  systems  the  same  percentage  of 
profits  to  the  manufacturers  and  dealers,  and  still  under  protection 
the  workingman  has  to  pay  out  of  his  wages  for  every  pound  of 


wool  and  other  protected  raw  materials,  necessary  in  the  process 
of  turning  the  wool  into  cloth,  even  under  the  revised  tariff,  $r.i8 
more  than  if  raw  materials  were  not  taxed.  The  fifty  cents'  worth 
of  wool  and  tw-enty-five  cents'  worth  of  chemicals,  coal,  etc.,  cost 
him  $1.93  instead  of  seventy-five  cents,  the  original  price  ;  all  0:1 
account  of  the  various  charges  and  profits  on  the  tax  which  the  raw 
material  has  to  bear  in  its  various  stages  of  manufacture  until  it 
goes  on  the  workingman's  back  as  a  coat.  In  other  words,  the 
tariff  charges  of  forty  cents  have  grown  to  $1.18, — an  increase 
of  seventy-eight  cents,  in  this  wonderful  process  of  the  tariff 
to  cheapen  prices  by  means  of  a  tax  on  the  raw  material. 

Prices  were  fully  twenty-five  per  cent,  higher  on  the  average  in 
1880  than  in  i860,  while  living  expenses  on  the  whole — onaccount 
of  higher  prices  of  commodities  and  of  greater  additions  to  life's 
necessities — were  fully  thirty-five  per  cent,  advanced. 

Let  us  examine  what  were  the  earnings  of  our  v/orking  classes 
in  i860  and  what  they  were  in  1880  in  our  most  important  indus- 
tries. I  compute  them  from  the  respective  census  reports  by 
dividing  the  whole  number  of  persons  employed  during  the  year 
by  the  total  amount  of  wages  paid.  The  earnings  are  for  the 
year  per  head  : 


Per  cent. 

1S60. 

rSSo. 

Increase. 

Woollen  and  worsted  goods        .... 

$234 

$300 

23 

Iron  and  steel            ..... 

355 

390 

10 

Cotton     ....... 

200 

246 

23 

Machinery     ...... 

390 

450 

15 

Paper-making     ...... 

252 

360 

40 

Boots  and  shoes         ..... 

250 

370 

43 

Furniture              ...... 

330 

400 

20 

Sole  leather  ...... 

310 

400 

28 

Glass        ...                         ... 

330 

375 

15 

Jewelry          ...... 

435 

500 

15 

Saddlery  and  harness     ..... 

350 

380 

9 

Sash  and  doors           .              ...              .              . 

371 

400 

8 

Iron  and  steel,  which,  we  are  told,  need  so  large  a  protection  to 
keep  foreign  competition  off  our  shores,  though  protected  by  dis- 
tance, in  the  shape  of  charges  for  transportation,  etc.,  at  the  rate 


of  from  $5  to  $7  respectively  a  ton,  have  only  ten  per  cent,  more 
to  give  to  the  workingman  in  1S80 — a  year  of  unexampled  pros- 
perity— than  in  i860. 

Machinery  gaveonly  fifteen  per  cent.,  which  is  about  the  average 
of  increase  in  the  various  lines  named  above,  except  in  boots  and 
shoes  and  clothing,  where  the  average  increase  is  forty-eight  percent, 
owing  in  great  part  undoubtedly  to  the  introduction  of  machinery 
in  place  of  low-priced  hand  work,  and  not  to  the  tariff,  as  in  both 
instances  there  is  virtually  no  protection,  since  the  materials  were 
as  highly  taxed  as  the  finished  article. 

Considering  the  smaller  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar,  the 
workingman  received  absolutely  less  wages  in  the  iron  and  steel 
mills  in  18S0  than  in  i860.  In  1880  the  tariff  was  from  fifty  to 
two  hundred  per  cent.  ;  in  i860  twelve  per  cent,  on  steel,  and 
twenty-four  per  cent,  on  iron. 

We  have  seen  above  what  a  good  thing  the  tariff  gave  to  the 
iron  men  in  1880,  and  yet  the  value  of  the  earnings  of  their  work- 
ingmen  was  considerably  less  than  under  the  low  tariff  of  i860. 
]\Iany  of  the  above  enumerated  industries  did  not  fare  much  bet- 
ter. Coal-mining  does  not, — also  one  of  the  "  infants,"  protected 
by  seventy-five  cents  a  ton,  or  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  on  the  cost 
of  production. 

In  1880  there  were  employed  : 


Above  ground 
Below  ground 


Men. 


15.564 
36,952 


Hoys  under 
16  years. 


11,921 

3,802 


Nearly  one  fourth  of  all  employed  were  children.      Compared  to 
1870,  the  case  stood  as  follows  : 


J  8  70. 

1880. 

Prop,  of 
Inc.  p.  ct. 

Men 

Boys  under  i6 

43,800 
9,000 

52,500 
15.700 

20 

73 

77 

Parents,  in  order  to  make  both  ends  meet,  had  to  send  their 
children  into  the  mines — thirty  per  cent,  of  all  employed  in  1880 
against  twenty  per  cent,  in  1870.  The  output  in  1870  was  fifteen 
and  a  half  million  tons  of  anthracite  coal,  against  twenty-seven 
and  a  half  million  tons  in  18S0.  Yet  the  amount  paid  in  wages 
was  $1,218,000  less  in  1880  than  in  1870.  The  tariff  for  pro- 
tection of  American  labor  did  not  prevent  the  pinching  that  this 
decline  in  wages  entailed  on  our  hardest-worked  population. 
What  a  useful  thing  an  accommodating  phrase  sometimes  proves 
to  be  !  The  earnings  of  an  adult  miner  in  the  boom  year  were 
$359.08  ;  the  average  of  all  labor  employed  in  coal  mines,  $318. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

COMPARING  AMERICAN  WAGES  WITH  ENGLISH  WAGES,  AND  SHOW- 
ING HOW  SMALL  THE  DIFFERENCE  IN  THE  PAY,  AND  HOW 
SMALL  A  TARIFF  WOULD  BE  NEEDED  TO  PROTECT  AMERICAN 
LABOR,    IF    RAW    MATERIALS    WERE    FREE. 

The  superiority  of  our  means  of  production'  being  acknowl- 
edged, little  remains  to  be  said  to  demonstrate  that  our  industries 
need  no  protection  to  enable  them  to  compete  successfully  with 
Europe,  provided  they  share  the  advantages  that  Europe, — /.  <?., 
England,  Germany,  etc. — possesses  ;  namely,  free  raw  materials. 
Our  exports  in  cotton  goods  are  sufficient  evidence  of  this.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  articles  where  the  skill  of  the  workman,  the 
inventive  genius  of  the  American,  comes  into  action.  In  fact, 
wherever  the  value  of  the  work  bears  a  very  high  relation  to  the 
value  of  the  raw  material,  there  we  can  freely  compete  with  for- 
eign nations.  It  is  so  in  the  case  of  machinery,  tools,  implements 
of  all  sorts  made  of  iron  and  steel.  Though  they  are  made  of 
materials  taxed  more  heavily  than  the  finished  goods,  yet  the  su- 
periority of  American  workmanship  is  able  to  overcome  these 
burdens.  Wherever  labor  largely  preponderates  in  the  combined 
value  of  labor  and  materials,  there  we  excel.  Of  course,  in  heavy 
goods,  requiring  little  skill  and  labor,  whose  value  lies  chiefly  in 
the  materia],  competition  is  altogether  out  of  the  question.  This 
alone  ought  to  prove  conclusively  that  tliougli  we  pay  in  most 
fields  better  wages  than  even  the  English — and  they  pay  the 
highest  wages  in  Europe, — we  still  make  goods  that  can  fully 
compete  with  theirs. 

V/e  may  consider,  therefore,  a  protective  tariff,  such  as  we 
enjoy,  as  an  absolute  superfluity  that  does  not  benefit  the  working- 
man  (on  the  contrary,  does  him  harm  in  lessening  the  value  of  his 
wages),  cripples  the  manufacturer  in  narrowing  his  field  of  opera- 
tion, and  most  completely  annihilates  our  foreign  commerce.  And 
manufactures  cannot  prosper  without  the  aid  of  commerce. 

78 


79 


oome  people,  however,  after  all  that  has  been  said  of  the  rela- 
tive cheapness  of  our  work,  may  still  be  in  doubt  as  far  as  our 
competitive  capacity  in  regard  to  England  is  concerned  ; — the 
country  which  in  Europe  pays  the  highest  wages  and  makes  the 
cheapest  goods.  To  dispel  such  doubts  I  will  compare  the  rates 
paid  here  with  those  paid  in  Europe  in  the  principal  industries  : 

I.  Cotton  Goods — Mr.  Carroll  D.  Wright  states  the  average 
weekly  wages  in  Lancashire  and  Massachusetts  : 


Lancashire. 

Massachusetts. 

Difference. 

Of  weavers  ..... 
Of  mule  spinners  .... 

$5    23 
7  8o 

$5  64 

10    CQ 

$15  73 

$0  36 
2    29 

813  08 

$2    65 

Considering  this  to  be  a  iaii  average  of  differences  paid  to  the 
various  employees  of  the  cotton  mills  in  the  respective  countries, 
then  we  pay  our  operatives  just  20  per  cent,  more  than  the  Eng- 
lish pay.  And  the  English  pay  about  50  per  cent,  more  than  the 
Germans  pay  their  operatives,  and  yet  we  are  exporters  of  cotton 
goods  to  both  Germany  '  and  England.  The  figures  of  Mr.  Wright 
find  contradiction  from  various  quarters,  Mr.  J.  Chase,  member 
of  Congress  from  Rhode  Island,  himself  a  cotton  manufacturer, 
places  the  difference  as  high  as  62  per  cent. 

According  to  the  last  Census,  however,  the  average  wages  for 
all  cotton  mill-hands  are  $246  for  the  year,  or  $4.73  aweck,^  which 
would  imply  earnings  below  those  given  by  Mr.  Wright.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  our  cotton-goods  operatives  earn  more  than  the 
English.  Granting,  however,  for  argument's  sake,  that  they  earn 
25  per  cent,  more,  then  this  surplus  of  earnings  is  more  than 
balanced  by  longer  working  hours — 60  hours  constituting  a  week 
in  Massachusetts  (other  States,  having  no  legal  limitation,  work 

'  This  we  are  able  to  do,  notwithstanding  Germany's  tariff  of  40  marks  or  $10 
on  the  hundred-weight  of  cotton  goods.  lOO  lbs.  German  weight  equals  no 
lbs.  American. 

*  Where  the  annual  average  of  earnings  in  any  specified  industry  is  given,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  this  includes  high  and  low  wages,  salaries  of  clerks, 
etc.,  which  reduces  the  individual  earnings  of  the  largest  proportion  of  workers 
to  a  sum  materially  below  the  average. 


8o 

longer  hours  yet),  against  54  to  56  hours  in  England,  and  by- 
higher  speed  and  greater  perfection  of  our  productive  methods. 
But  let  us  waive  all  the  advantages  derived  from  these  points  and 
take  20  per  cent,  as  representing  the  proportion  of  wages  to  the 
product  of  the  cotton  mills,  then  a  tariff  of  5  per  cent,  on  cotton 
piece-goods  would  cover  the  whole  difference  in  the  earnings  of 
our  operatives.  The  old  tariff  taxed  cotton  goods  35  per  cent. 
where  ad-valo?-em  rates  were  imposed.  The  new  tariff  raised  this 
to  40  per  cent.^  Specific  rates  were  reduced  somewhat,  but  not 
sufficiently  to  compensate  for  the  great  decline  in  the  price  of 
cotton  that  has  taken  place  since  1S65.  Unbleached,  from  5  cents 
to  4  cents  per  square  yard!  Bleached,  from  5|-  to  5  cents  !  on  goods 
counting  over  200  threads  to  the  square  inch.  These  comprise 
all  fine  goods  such  as  nainsooks,  mulls,  lawns,  etc.,  which  are 
largely  used  by  American  manufacturers  of  lace  goods  and 
trimmings,  who  in  most  instances  have  to  pay  more  for  duties  on 
their  materials  than  on  the  finished  goods  of  their  respective 
branches. 

2.  Iron  and  Steel — {a)  Pig-iron  :  Mr.  Joseph  D.  Weeks,  of 
Pittsburgh,  one  of  our  best  experts,  gives  the  price  paid  for  labor 
in  Pittsburgh  to  make  a  ton  of  pig-iron  : 

Labor  on  mining  ore  for  ton  of  pig-iron  @  $1.40  =  $2  38 
"        "         "        coal   and  making  coke  necessary 

for  ton  of  pig-iron    .         .         .  i  25 

"        "         "        limestone  ....  30 

"      at  furnace  .         .         .         .         ,         .  i  25 


85   18 

In  Cleveland,  England,  $3.17  is  paid,  against  $5.18  in  Pitts- 
burgh. This  leaves  $2.01  more  pay  for  all  the  workingmen  that 
are  employed  in  raising  the  ore,  the  coal,  and  the  limestone  and 
making  the  iron.  To  offset  this,  in  addition  to  the  transportation 
expenses,  commission  charges,  etc.,  of  from  ^5  to  $6  on  a  ton  of 
pig-iron,  the  tariff  gives  $6. 72,  which  is  a  total  of  $12  to  $13  protec- 
tion.    The  rulingprice  in  England  of  pig-iron  was  last  year,  1882, 

'  This  includes  cotton  velvets,  embroideries,  laces,  etc.,  which  are  all  raised 
from  35  to  40  per  cent. 


8i 

48s.  to  50s.,  or  say,  in  round  figures,  9^2  ;  the  price  of  American 
pig  No.  I  about  ^25.  Now  the  price  for  Cleveland  (English) 
pig  is  40s.  to  43s.  For  American  pig  in  Pittsburgh  $i8  to 
$20  for  No.  2,  and  ^21  to  $22  for  No.  i.  (d)  Steel  rails  and  other 
steel,  bars,  rods,  etc.:  Product,  983,039  tons,  at  an  outlay  for  wages 
of  $4,930,009,  or  $5.oii-  for  each  ton  produced.  This  is  what  the 
American  workingman  gets.  Protection  on  rails,  now  $17,  against 
the  former,  $28.  According  to  Leone  Levi,  the  English  statistician, 
and  Mr.  Edward  Young,  the  former  Chief  of  our  Bureau  of  Statis- 
tics, the  average  wages  in  English  steel  works  were  about  32s.  or 
about  $8  a  week  for  skilled  labor,  or  $1.35  a  day,  and  21s.  aAveek  for 
unskilled  labor,  or  87  cents  a  day.  This  gives  the  American  steel- 
worker  73  per  cent,  more  than  his  English  brother  gets.  This,  how- 
ever, is  offset,  as  shown  before,  by  our  better  and  quicker  methods  of 
manufacture.  But  granting,  for  argument's  sake,  even  50  per  cent. 
more  as  cost  of  labor  in  this  country,  then  this  would  add  to  the 
cost  of  a  ton  of  American  steel  the  magnificent  sum  of  ^1.67  for 
wages  as  against  $28  or  $17,  respectively  of  protection  for  the  mill- 
owners.  Protection  that  is  granted  by  freight  and  other  charges 
on  the  imported  stuff  ought  not  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  this  instance 
either. 

"3.  Leather — upper  leather  and  calfskin  manufacture — Tanner's 
wages — Eastern  and  Western  cities  of  the  United  States,  $10  to 
$11  per  week.  Curriers'  wages — Eastern  and  Western  cities  of 
the  United  States,  $14  to  $15  per  v/eek.  In  country  towns  of  the 
United  States,  ^2  to  $3  a  week  less.  Morocco  leather — Tanners' 
wages — New  York,  ^12  a  week  ;  Philadelphia,  $12  a  week  ;  Wil- 
mington, Del.,  $10  a  week  ;  Lynn,  Mass.,  ^10  a  week. 

"  Morocco  finishing  by  machinery — Wages  of  finishers — New 
York,  $13  to  ^14  per  week  ;  Philadelphia,  $13  to  $14  per  week  ; 
Lynn,  Mass.,  $11  to  $12  per  week. 

"Sole-leather  tanners — In  the  country  towns  of  the  United 
States,  $1.25  per  day  ;  in  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Louisville,  Cin- 
cinnati, and  Chicago,  $9  to  $10.50  per  week,  ten  hours  a  day  ;  in 
London,  England,  $8.50  to  $9.50  per  week,  nine  hours  a  day's 
work  ;  in  the  country  towns  of  England  and  in  Scotland,  $6  a  week, 
nine  hours  a  day's  work  ;  in  Germany,  80  cents  to  $1   a  day,  ten 


hours  a  day's  work  ;  in  French  provinces,  ^5  lo  $5  50  a  week  ; 
in  Paris  (France),  $1  a  day. 

"  Sole-leather  curriers — In  country  towns  of  the  United  States, 
^r.50  to  $1.60  a  day,  ten  hours  a  day  ;  in  London,  England,  ^10 
to  $13  a  week,  nine  hours  a  day;  in  the  country  towns  of  Eng- 
land and  in  Scotland,  $7  to  $7.50  'a  week  ;  in  Leeds,  England, 
East  India  tanned  skins,  $6.50  to  $7.50  a  week  ;  in  Germany,  ^i 
fo  $1.15  a  day,  ten  hours  a  day  ;  in  the  provinces  of  France,  ^5 
to  $6  a  week  ;  in  Paris,  $9  a  week." 

The  above  is  an  abstract  of  a  report  made  by  the  Shoe  and 
Leather  Reporter  to  Mr.  Nimmo,  The  correctness  of  the  list  is 
confirmed  by  twelve  business  firms  in  the  line.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  wages,  considerably  higher  than  iu  Germany  and  France,  are 
not  much  above  the  average  wages  paid  in  England  :  for  tanning 
say  12^2  per  cent.;  while  curriers  get  about  30  per  cent.  more. 
As  the  American,  however,  has  ten  working  hours  against  the 
Englishman's  nine  hours,  the  surplus  added  to  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion on  account  of  higher  wages  is  reduced  in  tanning  to  a  mini- 
mum— less  than  5  per  cent.;  in  currying  to  about  15  per  cent. 

As  wages  determine  only  a  correspondingly  small  part  of  the 
value  of  the  whole  product,  it  is  evident  that  this  industry  can 
afford  to  do  without  the  paternal  care  of  the  Government.  We 
are  heavy  exporters  of  leather.  Flides  are  not  protected.  The 
lord  of  the  prairie,  the  aristocratic  ox,  under  a  democratic  form  of 
government  does  not  enjoy  the  protection  that  is  extended  to  his 
j)lebeian  cousin,  the  sheep. 

4.  Silk  goods — The  difference  in  wages  varies  largely  between 
the  different  European  countries — England,  Germany,  France,  and 
Switzerland.  A  statement  of  wages  and  earnings  would  give  a 
very  inadequate  idea.  The  various  modes  of  operation  have  to 
be  taken  into  consideration.  The  greater  efficiency  of  the 
workers,  and  the  application  of  most  improved  machinery,  to  a 
large  extent  obliterate  the  influence  of  higher  earnings  on  cost 
of  product.  Americans  earn  from  G^  to  75  per  cent,  more  than 
the  English  ;  perhaps  100  per  cent,  more  than  German  operatives. 
The  acknowledged  superiority  of  our  working  methods  reduces  the 
difference  materially  :  50  per  cent.,  as  an  addition  of  cost,  would 
be  a  very  high  estimate.      Many  of  our  silks  are  produced  in   New 


83 

Jersey,  whose  product  in  iSSo  was  $13,850,000  (cost)  ;  of  this 
there  was  paid  in  wages  $4,177,000,  or  30  per  cent.;  50  per  cent, 
of  30  per  cent,  is  equal  to  15  per  cent.  All  the  protection  needed 
to  protect  the  workingman  is  15  per  cent.  A  tariff  of  50  per  cent, 
is  certainly  excessive,  in  view  of  the  enjoyment  of  free  raw  silk. 
A  tariff  of  30  per  cent.,  with  free  materials,  would  give  ample  pro- 
tection to  the  silk  manufacturer.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the 
present  rate  of  protection  amounts  to  much  more  than  that,  con- 
sidering the  latitude  under-valuation  and  smuggling  enjoyed  under 
the  former  tariff.  The  reduction  to  50  per  cent,  still  gives  ample 
opportunities  for  these  practices. 

5.  Woollens — From  the  report  of  the  United  States  Consul  at 
Leeds  the  following  may  be  taken  as  ruling  prices  in  187S,  the 
week  having  54  working-hours  against  not  less  than  Go  hours  in 
America  : 


Wool-sorters  per  week    . 
Scourers  and  dyers  per  weuk 
Spinners  per  week 
Weavers,  men,  per  week 
Weavers,  women,  per  week 
Pressers  per  week 
Laborers  per  week 


^6  24  to  $6  72 

4  80  to  5  75 
7  70  to  9  69 
6  00  to  8  40 

3  60  to  4  So 

5  75  to  6  72 

4  32  to  5  25 


Considering  the  difference  in  time,  I  doubt  whether  our  woollen 
mills  pay  much  more  in  wages  for  a  given  piece  of  work  than  the 
English.  $4.50  to  $6.00  for  women  and  $6.00  to  $9.00  for  men 
are  fair  average  wages  of  operatives  in  American  woollen  mills. 
Still  we  have  a  specific  and  an  ad-valorem  duty  to  pay  on  woollens, 
averaging  fully  60  per  cent,  even  after  the  reduction. 

Now,  I  ask  any  candid  manufacturer  whether  his  "  infant  "  in- 
dustry would  not  be  fully  protected  with  a  tariff  of  25  per  cent., 
plain  and  simple,  if  he  had  wool  and  other  raw  materials  free  of 
duty?  With  free  raw  materials  he  could  build  up  an  export  trade 
and  thereby  give  more  steady  employment  to  his  help. 

6.  Coal,  anthracite — In  1880  we  mined  27,433,000  tons,  and 
paid  in  wages  $21,680,000,  or  79  cents  a  ton. 

Coal,  bituminous — Product,  40,311,000  tons  ;  wages,  $30,707,- 
000,  or  76  cents  on  the  average  a  ton,  Pennsylvania  producing 
18,000,000  tons,  at  a  cost  of  only  64  cents  a  ton  for  wages. 


I  leave  the  intelligent  reader  to  determine  for  himself  whether 
a  protective  tariff  of  75  cents  is  required  to  secure  to  the  v.'orking- 
man  64  cents  in  wages. 

The  average  wages  of  miners  in  Scotland  are  four  shillings  a  day. 

These  examples  must  suffice.  If  I  have  not  succeeded,  from 
statistics  introduced,  in  proving  the  absurdity  of  the  claim  of 
protectionists — 

(i)  That  we  cannot  compete  with  Europe,  provided  we  have 
free  raw  materials  ; 

(2)  That  the  tariff  protects  our  working  people  ;  and 

(3)  That  the  tariff  protects  our  industries  ;  then  no  amount  of 
argument  will  prove  it. 

The  remedy  for  all  evils  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  voters.  Like 
voters,  like  law-makers.  It  will  not  do  to  shift  the  blame  on  other 
shoulders.  This  is  a  free  government,  and  the  cure  for  all  abuses 
must  come  from  the  people.  No  question  is  so  important  with 
respect  to  the  welfare  of  a  people  as  the  question  of  taxation. 
The  equitable  adjustment  of  taxes  is  the  foundation  of  universal 
prosperity.  Unequal  taxation  enriches  the  few  and  impoverishes 
the  millions.  Nothing  stands  in  the  way  to  prevent  Congress 
from  entering  into  an  immediate  settlement  of  this  most  important 
question. 

Why,  then,  dig  in  the  sepulchres  of  the  past  for  dry  bones 
and  dead  issues  ? 

The  old  political  feuds  are  settled.  We  stand  before  a  new 
era.  The  solution  of  economic  questions  is  demanded  by  the 
rising  generation,  a  generation  which  has  lost  the  meaning  even 
of  the  old  catchwords. 

Besides,  we  have  turned  a  page  in  our  history.  We  have 
become  a  great  manufacturing  nation.  The  narrow  confines  in 
which  the  tariff  encircles  us  must  give  way  before  the  all-over- 
powering energy  of  a  young  nation.  A  thorough  revision  of 
the  tariff  upon  the  basis  of  free  raw  materials  has  become  an 
urgent  necessity  for  the  preservation  of  our  vast  manufacturing 
industries. 


EXPLANATORY  REMARKS  TO  TABLES. 


Appendix  I  shows  the  tariffs  of  Great  Britain,  Canada, 
Germany,  France,  Belgium,  Netherlands,  and  the  United  States, 
so  far  as  they  refer  to  manufacturing  industries,  and  to  raw 
materials  used  in  the  respective  industries.  I  also  give  a  state- 
ment of  imports  and  exports  coming  under  these  headings,  both 
in  the  aggregate  and  per  capita  of  population  of  each  country. 
It  will  be  seen  that,  excepting  the  United  States,  all  import  their 
raw  materials  free  of  duty,  whether  they  possess  rich  mines,  as 
England,  Germany,  and  Belgium,  or  whether  they  are  large  sheep- 
raisers  themselves,  such  as  England  and  Germany.  The  result  of 
this  policy  is,  that  they  all  do  a  large  exporting  trade  in  manufact- 
uring products,  regardless  of  respective  policies  of  free  trade  or 
protection  in  manufacturing  industries  ;  England  under  free  trade 
doing  the  largest  share  of  exports,  and  per  capita  almost  the 
smallest  of  imports,  in  merchandise,  which  she  admits  free  of  duty, 
while  all  other  nations  impose  duties  more  or  less  heavy  on  them. 
The  United  States,  with  highest  import  duties,  are  the  heaviest 
importers  of  manufactured  goods,  so  heavily  taxed  that  the  duties 
are  more  than  double  those  of  any  of  the  other  protecting  nations. 
Her  exports  are  almost  nil,  for  the  simple  reason  that  America  is 
the  only  country  which  taxes  raw  materials,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  tables. 

The  Netherlands  are  heavy  importers  of  manufactured  goods ; 
among  her  imports  of  textiles,  yarns  form  a  very  heavy  item. 
They  have  no  mines,  and  metals  are  therefore  a  very  important 
class  of  imports.  The  Netherlands  have  a  largely  developed 
commerce,  while  manufacturing  industries  are  behind  those  of 
adjacent  countries.  This  in  spite  of  the  lowness  of  wages  and  the 
lower  standard  of  life  of  their  working-classes,  to  which  fact  I  call 
special  attention  in  support  of  the  position  taken  in  Chapter  X, 

85 


86 


The   foreign  commerce  in   the  principal  manufactures,  textiles 
and  metal  goods,  of  the  different  nations,  shows  : 


COUNTRIES. 

Imports. 

Exports. 

Total. 

Per 
Head. 

Total. 

Per 
Head. 

1.  England    , 

2.  Germany 

3.  France 

4.  Netherlands  . 

5.  United  States    . 

$148,000,000. 

57,000,000. 

83,500,000. 

69,750,000. 

212,500,000. 

$4  22 

1  27 

2  24 
17  44 

4  II 

$804,000,000. 
284,000,000. 
182,600,000. 

49,200,000. 

44,800,000. 

$22    94 

6  31 

4  91 

12  30 

86 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  imports  of  the  United  States  in  manu- 
factures which  they  endeavor  so  strongly  to  exclude  by  abnormally 
high  duties,  exceed  those  of  Germany,  France,  and  the  Nether- 
lands combined,  or  those  of  England  and  Germany,  while  their 
exports  do  not  even  reach  those  of  the  Netherlands  with  barely 
one  tenth  of  the  population  of  the  United  States.  If  we  except 
cotton  goods,  machinery,  arms,  tools,  and  the  like,  the  total  is  less 
than  ten  millions,  or  seven  cents  per  capita. 

The  percentage  of  labor  and  material  in  these  metal  goods  is  as 
follov/s  : 


ARTICLES. 


Agricultural  implements 

Cutlery     . 

Fire-aims       .  .  . 

Sewing-machines 

Foundiy  produce,  machinery 


Labor. 

Material. 

33     % 
49    % 
60    % 

492-  ^ 
40    % 

67     % 
51     % 
40     % 
50*  % 
60     % 

The  relation  of  labor  to  material  in  the  iron  and  steel  industries, 
pig-iron,  bar  iron,  rails,  etc.,  is  22  ^  labor,  and  78  ^  material; 
a  convincing  proof  that  it  is  the  cost  of  the  material  and  not  the 
labor  cost  that  stands  in  our  way  and  causes  a  state  of  affairs 
which  must  bring  a  blush  to  our  face,  when  we  compare  the 
eighty-six  cents  of  our  exports  with  ^22.94  of  England,  and  the 
three  millions  of  American  tonnage  with  the  twenty  millions  of 
Enghsh  tonnage,  illustrative  of  the  decay  of  our  foreign  commerce.^ 
^  See  Note  on  page  88. 


87 

In  specific  tariff  rates  the  averages  are  given  wherever  the  rates 
differ  largely  on  various  subdivisions  of  the  same  class  of  goods. 

The  exports  of  free  trade  of  England  in  manufactures  are  more 
than  five  times  as  large  as  her  imports  in  the  same  classes,  and 
exceed  by  far  the  combined  exports  of  all  other  commercial 
nations,  including  the  United  States.  In  general  merchandise, 
however,  her  imports  are  largely  in  excess  of  her  exports.  This 
large  excess  of  English  imports  over  exports  is  frequently  com- 
mented upon  by  protectionists  as  a  sign  of  future  calamity.  In 
1880,  it  amounted  to  about  ^600,000,000.  This  excess  shows,  on 
the  contrary,  the  wealth  and  great  financial  strength  of  England, 
and  is  practically-  a  national  profit  made  up  as  follows  : 

Freightage  to  and  from  foreign  countries  in  the  sum  of            .  $215,000,000 

Interest  on  foreign  investments        ....  265,000,000 

Ships  sold           .......  7,000,000 

Commissions  on  foreign  trade          .           -.             .             .  80,000,000 

Interest  on  foreign  trade            .....  23,000,000 

Total  ......         $590,000,000 

Appendix  II  shows  the  revenue  systems  of  the  commercial 
nations  named.  The  United  States  derive  their  income  solely 
from  excise-  and  customs-duties,  which  bear  heaviest  on  the 
working-classes  as  consumers  of  their  entire  income.  All  other 
nations  obtain  large  sums  from  income-  and  stamp-taxes,  that 
come  mostly  from  accumulated  property. 

In  Appendix  III  I  place  the  old  and  the  nev/  (1883)  tariffs 
of  the  United  States  side  by  side.  The  two  tariffs  are  necessarily 
represented  only  in  the  most  important  classes.  As  I  found  it  im- 
possible to  go  into  the  details  and  subdivisions  of  each  branch, 
the  work  is  necessarily  incomplete.  It  is,  however,  sufficient  to 
show  the  entire  inadequacy  of  the  so-called  "  tariff  reform  "  as  a 
measure  of  relief  to  our  industries.  Some  items  of  duties  are 
largely  raised,  as,  for  instance,  all-wool  dress  goods,  for  which  a 
new  classification  has  been  created,  to  "encourage"  the  making 
of  cashmeres.  But  the  increase  of  duty,  this  patent  medicine  for 
all  ills  of  American  growth,  does  not  cover  the  defects  of  Ameri- 
can wools,  which  so  far  have  not  produced  the  soft  textures  of  the 
French  article. 


88 

Appendix  IV  shows  the  ad-valorem  equivalent  of  specific 
duties  at  different  periods  under  changing  prices.  While  foreign 
prices  in  iron,  steel,  and  in  raw  wool  have  declined,  the  specific 
rates  have  remained,  consequently  the  percentage  of  duties,  even 
after  the  revision  of  1883,  is  heavier  than  it  was  twelve  years 
ago. 

Note. — In  i860  our  foreign  commerce  amounted  to  §762,000,000,  of  which 
were  carried  in  American  bottoms  $507,000,000,  or  66,1,  ^n^  foreign  l)otto?ns 
255,000,000,  or  34f?. 

In  i83o  our  commerce  had  risen  to  $1,589,000,000,  of  which  were  carried  in 
American  Iwttoiiis  $280,000,000,  or  17'?,  3.\\d  foreign  bottoms  1,309,000,000,  or  Z^'/c. 
In  1870  we  carried  yet  §352.000,000  in  American  ships.  The  great  expansion 
of  our  foreign  commerce  benefited  foreign  shipping  only.  Within  twenty 
years  our  foreign  trade  rose  from  eight  and  a  quarter  to  eighteen  million  tons,  or 
120';^ ;  and  while  our  share  of  these  eight  and  a  quarter  million  tons  was  six 
millions,  or  70^^  of  tonnage  in  i860,  the  same  had  declined  in  1880  to  so  low  a 
level  that  of  eighteen  millions  our  share  was  only  three  and  two-fifth  millions, 
cr  iq%. 


Appendix  I.— Showing  the  tariffs  of  ilie  principal  commercial  nations,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  manufactures  and  raw  materials,  imports  and  exports  of  manufactures  in  the  aggregate  and  per  capita.     Values  in  American  dollars. 


N.AMES  OF  ARTICLES. 


.  Ckrat  Britaik  and  Ikslanu, 


Imports. 

S 

5 

£ 

^ 

< 

if. 

Raw  Materials. 


1,  Hemp,  (lax.  jule, 

2.  Wool,  grease 

5.  Dyeslufis 

6.  Cliemicals 

7.  Vcgelahle?,  gums. 

8.  Glass,  stones,  tla) 


17.  Woollen  goods 

18.  Silk  goods     . 

19.  Jule  and  linen 

SI.  Leather  goods 

Impot 
Expo, 


\  7.50". 
,    37-50 


$284,000,000  6.31 


"f  GIas< 

"\    5  S 


$,,000,000 

, 

5.< 

■   5 

3,400,000 
3,000,000 

0. 

5 

14,000.000 

3- 

5 

500,000 

5 

1,500,000 

5 

250,000 
$69,750,000 

-T^ 

'  Machines  lor  agriculture  and  iniLiiufaci 


60 

$9,200,000 

601075 

'  33,000,000 

.1 

45 

20,000,000 

45 
45 

2,000.000 

3.000.000 

400.000 

35  10  50 

34.400.000 

.1 

SO  to  85 

38,000,000 

50 

39,000,000 

35 

23.500.000 

10  to  35 

5.000.000 
5. 000.000 

$212,500,000 

~ 

•  Irtdudiog  t 

=- 

,004 

■0. 

.004 

12, 

,04 

IS- 

,44 

M- 

,014 

'S. 

•25 

16, 

.008 

■7. 

18, 

,014 

■9- 

.046 

20, 

,023 

21. 

,86 

?\ 


Appendix  II. — Showing  how  the  nations  named  in  Appendix  I 

raise  their  revenues.     1882.     .000  omitted. 


^ 

a 
1 

>. 

■a 
c 

3 

Classes  of  Net  Income. 

0 

S 
0 

u 
0 
a 

el 

V 

■0 
12 

I.   Customs   .... 

$95,000 

$46,000 

$63  ,000 

$2,000 

$195,000 

2.   Excise      .... 

135,000 

38,000     190,000 

14,000 

130,000 

3.  Stamp  tax 

60,000 

4,900     140,000 

9,000 

4.  Land  tax  .... 

5,000 

"10,000 

5.   House  duty 

8,500 

6.   Income  tax,  etc. 

50,000 

'90,000 

10,000 

7.   Post-office 

13,600 

) 

22,000 

1.750 

*2,IOO 

8,  Telegraph 

4,900 

y  5.100 

5,000 

400 

9.   Crown  lands,  interest,  etc. 

8,500 

700 

1,000 

10.    Miscellaneous  . 

20,000 

10,500 

20,000 

3,000 

13,000 

/I.   Railroads 

3,100 

Soo 

^4,000 

12.  Contribution  of  States 

25,000 

13.   Extraordinary  . 

12,000 

14.   National  hanks 

7,100 

$396,500 

$144,600 

$540,100 

$41,650 

$352,200 

'  State  tax. 

■*  Excess  of  income 


'  Forests. 


^  All  direct  taxes  included. 
'  Pacific  R.  R.  reimbursements. 


Appendix  III. — The  old  and  the  new  tariff  rates  of  the  most 
important  articles  of  manufactures  and  of  raw  materials 
belonging  thereto. 


Tariff  of  187 

0. 

Tariff  of  1883. 

ARTICLES. 

0 

a 

—  « 

20 

S 

lJ 

0 

V 

a 

^.2 

c. 

<2 

^l 

(/) 

K* 

0 

w 

t-- 

0 

Schedule  A — Chemicals. 

i 

% 

Glue,  beeswax 

20 

20 

Soap,  sponges 

20 

20 

Sumac,  ammonia  . 

20 

20 

Cement,  cobalt 

20 

Turpentine,  spirits  of     .    gal. 

•30 

20 

Extracts  of  indigo 

20 

10 

Soap      .         .         .         .lb. 

IC. 

+  30 

20 

Mineral  waters 

30 

30 

Coal-tar  colors       .         .lb. 

•50 

+  35 

35 

Logwood  and  other  dyewood 

extracts      .... 

10 

10 

Colors  and  paints  . 

25 

25 

Preparations  of  essential  oils. 

etc 

Most 

y  speci 

fie. 

25 

All  crude  barks,  etc.,  or  min- 

erals ..... 

20 

Free. 

Advanced  or  prepared 

40 

10 

Other  chemicals  paid  specific 

rates,  varying  and  too  ex- 

tended    for      classification 

here  .        .        .        .lb. 

I    to  IOC 

Schedule  B. 

Brown  earthenware 

25 

25 

China,  porcelain,  etc.     . 

45 

60 

All  other  earthenware    . 

40 

55 

Stoneware    above    ten-gallon 

capacity     .... 

20 

20 

Tiles     .         .         .         :         . 

35 

35 

Bricks 

20 

20 

Bottles 

35 

40 

Cut-glass  bottles    . 

40 

45 

Other  glass    .... 

3  to  50 

3  to  50c.] 

"           silvered 

4  to  60 

4  to  60c. 

Schedule  C^MetaU.. 

Iron  ore         .         .         .     ton 

20 

75c. 

27J 

Pig-iron          .         ,         .       " 

$7  00 

i 

i     66| 

$6  72 

64 

Appendix  III. — Continued. 


Tariff  of  187 

0. 

Tariff  of  1883. 

ARTICLES. 

0 

3 

§0 

'0 

a 
in 

0 

"0 

0. 

C/3 

<3. 

Hi 

0 

% 

r  22.40 

\      ^° 
(  33-60 

f  80 

(    17,60 

i" 

Bar  and  other  iron          .     ton 

to 

\ 

f    33-60 

Steel  rails      .... 

28.00 

108 

17.00 

65 

"    blooms 

30 

45 

"    n.  0.  p. 

30 

45 

Iron  manufactures 

35 

45 

Steel           "            ... 

45 

45 

Copper  ore    .         .         .lb. 

3c. 

2|c. 

"       pigs  or  bars 

5c. 

4c. 

"       manufactures     , 

45 

45 

Gold 

1 

35  to 
40 

45 

Silver                "               .         . 

40 

45 

Cutlery          .... 

35 

45 

Schedule  I — Cotton  Goods. 

Woven  fabrics,  not  exceeding 

200  threads  to  square  inch  : 

Unbleached        square  yard 

5c. 

3c- 

Bleached    .         .     "         " 

5ic. 

40. 

Dyed          .          .    " 

5ic. 

-|-20 

5c. 

Valued  over  16  cents  . 

35 

"         "8c.  unbleached 

[ 

!- 

"         "  IOC.  bleached   . 

*'         "   13c.  dyed 

i 

) 

Exceeding   200   threads    to 

square  inch  : 

Unbleached        square  yard 

5c. 

4c. 

Bleached    .        .    "         " 

5ic. 

5c. 

Dyed          .         .     " 

5|c. 

+  20 

6c. 

Shirts,  drawers,  stocking  nar- 

rowed on  frames 

35 

40 

Cotton  velvets 

35 

40 

Laces  and  embroideries 

35 

40 

Spool  cotton,  dozen  100-yard 

spools         .... 

6c. 

+  30 

7c. 

Schedule  J — Hemp,  Jute, 

and  Flax. 

Flax  straw     .         .         .     ton 

$5  00 

$5  00 

"    not  hackled    . 

20  00 

20  00 

"    hackled,  etc. 

40  00 

40  00 

Appendix  III. — Continued. 


Tariff  of  1870. 


ARTICLES. 


<2. 


Tariff  of  1883. 


Hemp  and  jute,  same  in  both 

taritTs. 
Linen,  brown  and  bleached    . 

Over  30c.  square  yard 
Thread  for  carpets,    etc. ,   at 

24c.  or  less 

Over  24c.   . 

Other 
Grass  cloth    . 
Burlaps 

Schedule  K — Wool  and 
Woollens. 

Wool  under  30c. 

"     over  30c. 

"     under  32c. 

"     over  32c. 
Shoddy,  rags,  waste,  etc.      lb 

Woollen  cloth,  shawls    .     " 


Above  80c. 


IOC. 
I2C. 
I2C. 

50c. 


50C. 


+  11 
+  10 


35 


+  35 


Varying  rate  ac- 


Flannels,  blankets,  hats,  knit      1    ,.     ^    -r-         \ 

J  ^    both  specinc  and 

goods  .         .         ,         \       _       r 


Cotton  warp  dress  goods  : 
Under  20c.  sq.  yard,  sq.  yd. 
Above    "  "  " 

All  wool  dress  goods  : 

Under  20c.  sq.  yard,  sq.  yd. 

j  Above    "  "  " 

\      (Say  30  cents.) 

Clothing,  ready-made     .      lb. 

Cloaks,  dolmans,  etc.     .     " 


Schedule  L — Silk. 


Raw  silk 


ad  valorem, 
averaging 


6c. 

8c. 


6c. 
8c. 


50c. 


50c. 


Free. 


+  35 
+  40 

+  35 

+  35 

+  40 
+  40 


30 

35 

30 
35 
40 
30 
35 


75 
to 
150 
50 
to 
75 


95 

65 

78 

65 
60 


IOC. 
I2C. 


IOC. 

35c. 
35c. 


+  35 
+  40 


averaging 


5c. 
7c. 


9c. 
9c. 


40c. 
45c. 


Free. 


+  35 
+  40 

+  40 
+  40 

:+35 

i 
+  40 


Appendix  III. — Continued. 


Tariff  of  1870. 

Tariff  of  i88^. 

^ 

^ 

ARTICLES. 

0 

c 

1^ 

0 

E 

lJ 

<2. 

^l 

u 
u 

a 

<2. 

«(£ 

(/3 

^ 

0 

tfi 

> 

0 

% 

'i 

Thrown  silk  .... 

35 

40 

Sewing  silk,  etc.     . 

40 

40 

Silk  goods     .... 

60 

50 

Schedule  M — Books,  Papers. 

Books,  printed 

25 

25 

"      blank 

25 

20 

Printing  paper 

20 

15 

Paper  manufactures,  n.  o.  p. . 

35 

15 

Paper  boxes  .... 

35 

35 

Paper  hangings,  etc. 

35 

25 

Paper  pulp    .... 

20 

10 

Schedule  N— Sundries. 

Leather,  bend,  sole,  etc. 

35 

15 

Calfskin,  tanned,  dressed,  etc. 

30 

25 

Leather,  manufactures  . 

35 

35 

Paintings        .... 

10 

30 

Statuary 

. 

ID 

30 

Papier-mache 

35 

30 

Umbrellas     . 

50 

40 

silk 

60 

50 

Coal      . 

ton 

75c. 

75c. 

50 

Feathers 

35 

50 

Gloves  . 

50 

50 

Hatter's  plush 

25 

2? 

Appendix  IV. — Showing  the  ad-valorem  percentage  of  specific  rates  on  values  of  iron,  steel  rails,  and 
wool,  at  or  near  the  time  of  the  imposition  of  the  old  tariff,  previous  to  its  revision  and  under 
the  new  tariff. 


Old  TarlB. 

1 

New  Tariff 

1 

i-4. 

.RTICLKS. 

if 

ARTICLES. 

si 

Si 

S§ 

P 

Pi 

< 

Q 

1  < 

Q 

Schedule  C. 

% 

i 

i 

i 

% 

Cleveland,  (England)  pig-i 

on,  1871 

1872 

une, 1SS3 

813  50 
26  00 
10  50 

$7  00 

52 

27 
66f 

+  23 

Cleveland  pig-iror 

,  July,  1883 

..J 

$10  50 

$6  72 

64 

+  23 

Scotch  pig-iron 

1871 
.     1872 

15  50 
27  50 

\°s, 

45 
24 

■■.'.■   J 

«ne,  1SS3 

14  50 

7  00 

52 

+  15 

Scotch  pig-iron. 

July,   1883 

14  50 

6  72 

46 

+  2 

— 12 

Welsh  bar  iron  '     . 

.     1871 
1872 

37  50 
60  00 

22   40 
22   40 

60 

37i 

.     '    .  J 

une,  1883 

27  50 

22   40 

80 

+  33  J 

Welsh  bar  iron.' 

July,  1883 

27  00 

17  6c 

65 

+  9 

—19 

Sleel_  rails. 

i87r 
.     1872 

55  00 
67  00 

28   00 
28   00 

55 

'■     •'■'■'; 

«ne.  1S83 

25  00 

28   00 

108 

+  96 

English  steel  rails 

July,  1883 

25  00 

17  00 

68 

+  24 

—37 

Schedule  K— Woe 

L. 

Australian 

1872,  lb. 

1874.  •■ 
■876.  •• 
1878,  " 
l38o.  •■ 

32 

28 

22 
26 

]  'InV' 
(    II  J 

47 
48 
56i 
49 

1882.   ■■ 

24 

" 

52 

+  24 

Australian 

July,  1883 

23 

10 

43l 

+  31 

-164 

Cape             .         .         . 

1S72,  ■■ 

34 

)     and 

(      ID« 

45J 

1874,  " 

31 

!     and 

431 

1876.   ■■ 

28 

47 

1S78,   ■■ 

21 

56 

1880.   ■■ 

24 

52 

1882,   ■■ 

24 

52 

+  16 

Cape 

July,  1S83 

23 

10 

43i 

-I6i 

Peru,  middling     . 

1872,  ■' 

30 

11 

44J 

1874,  " 

28 

47 

1876,  ■■ 

28} 

48 

1878.  •• 

'9 

64 

1S80,  ■■ 

23 

55 

1882,  " 

50 

1883,  " 

■9 

" 

64 

+  45 

Pern,  middling. 

July,  18S3 

'9 

10 

53 

+  20 

-17 

English,  Lincoln  Hogs, 

1872.   •■ 
1874.   •■ 

56 
46* 

■<     and 
(    10^ 

\     and 

31 
36 

(    10  *g 

1876,   ■■ 

38 

" 

42 

1878,  ■■ 

28 

1  ' and" 

47 

1B80,  " 

27 

(    11^  % 

48 

1882,  ■• 

26 

49 

1883,  •• 

21 

58    +84  j English  wool. 

July,  1883 

21 

I0J48 

+  36 

-10 

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AA    001  026  554    4 


Its  Relation  to  Interstate  Legis- 

Octavo       .         .         .         .     1  oo 

Ml  and  Future.  By  J.  R.  Elliott. 

I   25 

1  of -Certain  Economic  Dangers  of 
k.RD  J.  Shriver,  Secretary  N.  Y. 

25 

sing  The  Decay  of  Our  Ocean 
e  and  its  Cure.  By  David  A. 
ies   and   Bounties.     By  John 

25 

Protection  upon  the  Farmer  and 

M.A 25 

tion  of  the  Objections  to  Capital 
ir.  By  Andrew  J.  Palm  i  25 
ly.  By  Lyon  G.  Tyler,  Presi- 
;       .         .         .         .         .     I  00 

iled  by  George  Haven  Putnam. 

I  50 

Howard  Cowperthwait,  r  25 
i  R.Ehrich. 

._    -, .  ~j  ^    iwui     a  eij5.cs  .>•     A    consideration  of  the  Question  of 

Taxation.     By  David  A.  Wells,  Julien  T.  Davis,  Thomas  G. 

Shearman,  Joseph   Dana  Miller,  Bolton  Hall,  and  others. 

Edited  by  BoLTON  Hall  ;  and  issued  on  behalf  of  the  New  York 

Tax-Reform  Association.     With  frontispiece         .         .         .     i  25 

'J'S — Economy  in  High  Wages.     By  J.  Schoenhof    .         .         .     i  25 

73— The  Farmers'  Tariff  Manual.     By  D.  Strange,  a  Farmer,     i  25 

C  T/ie  numbers  omitted  represent  Monographs  no  longer  in  print.) 


HF 
1755 
So6d 
1891 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS.  Publishers,  New  York  and  London. 


